Orbital ATK buys second Atlas rocket launch for space station run

Orbital ATK Inc is buying a second Atlas rocket launch to fly supplies to the International Space Station for NASA while it redesigns its Antares booster following a launch accident last year, the aerospace company said on Wednesday. The Oct. 28 accident, which occurred seconds after launch from Virginia’s Wallops Island, destroyed a Cygnus capsule filled with cargo bound for the space station. A final report on the accident is pending. In December, Orbital said it had bought an Atlas rocket launch from United Launch Alliance, a partnership of Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co, to help fulfill its $1.9 billion cargo delivery contract with NASA while it recovers from the accident. Terms of the contract were not disclosed. The launch is targeted for early December from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to the space station, a permanently staffed, $100 billion research laboratory that flies about 250 miles (400 km) above Earth. More

(Source: Reuters - Aug 13)