Hurricane Delays Launch of Space Station Cargo Ship

Hurricane Gonzalo, seen here from aboard the International Space Station, is delaying launch of NASAs next cargo ship to the orbital outpost.

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Orbital Sciences Corp., one of two companies hired by NASA to fly supplies to the space station, had planned to launch its Antares rocket and Cygnus capsule from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on Oct. 24.

The rockets tracking station, however, is located in Bermuda, which was bracing for the Category 3 storm on Friday.

Orbital Sciences now expects it wont be able to fly until Oct. 27 at the earliest.

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Once the hurricane has passed Bermuda, a team from NASAs Wallops Flight Facility Range will return to the tracking site to assess the situation and begin the process of re-enabling the sites functionality to support the launch, Orbital Sciences wrote in a statement posted on its website.

The capsule had been expected to linger in orbit, with docking at the station slated for Nov. 2. Orbital Sciences said it can still make that date with a launch on Oct. 27.

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Hurricane Delays Launch of Space Station Cargo Ship