Orbital ATK's 7th resupply mission to space station delayed

The launch of Orbital ATKs seventh commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station has been delayed and it is now targetted for no earlier than March 21, NASA said.

The Orbital ATK CRS-7 mission was earlier scheduled for March 19.

Orbital ATK aims to launch the Cygnus spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket for delivery of essential crew supplies, equipment and scientific experiments to astronauts aboard the space station.

During prelaunch testing on March 10, ULA discovered a booster hydraulic issue at the pad.

Both the cargo spacecraft and Atlas V rocket remain secure in their processing facilities, NASA said in a blog post on Friday.

The Cygnus spacecraft, packed with about 3,447 kgs of supplies and research for crew aboard the orbiting laboratory, will be launched atop the Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

--IANS

gb/vm