The redesign made on the Orbital ATK booster has paid off. A couple of years after a disastrous mechanical failure, the Antares rocket has been finally launched without a hitch.
NASA personnel are on hand as the unmanned flight left the Wallops Island launch complex in Virginia. The orbital's takeoff has been seen as a step towards overcoming previous challenges.
The Antares has been predicted to fly within a year following its unfortunate burst in October 2014 shortly after liftoff. However, the projected time table has been rescheduled on a number of occasions.
The recent launching has induced a new feeling of excitement as employees of the organization watched the takeoff proceed with ease. Controllers have declared an all systems go. After narrowing down the maximum thrust to fifty percent, the main engine cuts off with precision four minutes into the light. The Cygnus capsule disengages from the upper stage around nine minutes after liftoff.
The Cygnus has propelled itself with alternate boosters. No mechanical troubles have surfaced. The space pod proceeds to an orbiting laboratory where tons of food, supplies and experiment materials will be delivered.
The Orbital ATK, Inc. organization, which has been hampered by rocket fiascos and operational costs, is behind the resurrected efforts of the current project. The former Alliant Techsystems Company is part of a three-division firm which designs, produces and supplies space and aviation-associated systems.
In order to rectify the disaster in 2014, new Russian-made main engines have been brought in to replace the ailing hardware from the 70s. It has been unveiled that the lower-stage engine damage may have been attributed to a manufacturing defect that caused the explosion upon takeoff thereby inflicting damages on the payload and the launch pad.
Although the incorporation and the enhancement of the new machines into the Cygnus capsule have taken a while, the company believes that the replacement engines are stronger considering that more cargo can be carried and delivered.
The launch is the third flight of the space pod. Revisions in its systems allow the capsule to accommodate highly-pressurized cargo contents and revamped solar panels.
