Photo: ReutersCape Canaveral, Florida: An unmanned Antares rocket owned by Orbital ATK Inc. blasted off from Virginia on Monday with a cargo ship for the International Space Station, marking the booster’s return to flight two years after a previous version exploded at liftoff. The rocket carried a Cygnus capsule loaded with 5,290 pounds (2,400 kg) of food, supplies, equipment and science experiments for the space station, a $100-billion laboratory in orbit about 400km above Earth. The last Antares launch, on 28 October 2014, ended in disaster a few seconds after liftoff due to a problem with the booster’s refurbished, Soviet-era engines. The accident, which occurred while the rocket was being fueled for a routine pre-launch test, has temporarily grounded SpaceX, the only company apart from Orbital currently contracted by Nasa to fly cargo to the space station. Private contractors for the cargo runs became necessary following the retirement of the space shuttles in 2011.

Source: Mint October 18, 2016 11:26 UTC