Fire Alarm: International Space Station Resupply Mission Launch Scrubbed

Credit: NASA

Today’s launch attempt of Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo spacecraft from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore has been postponed. The launch was scrubbed due to a fire alarm at Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft control center in Dulles, Virginia. “Scrubbing” is NASA’s term for when the team managing the rocket launch calls off the attempted launch on a specific day.

The Cygnus spacecraft and Antares rocket remain healthy at the Wallops launch site.

A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket carrying a Cygnus spacecraft loaded with cargo bound for the International Space Station stands vertical on Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad-0A, Thursday, November 3, 2022, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Northrop Grumman’s 18th contracted cargo resupply mission with NASA to the International Space Station will deliver more than 8,000 pounds of science and research, crew supplies, and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew. The CRS-18 Cygnus spacecraft is named after the first American woman in space, Sally Ride. Credit: NASA/Jamie Adkins

The next launch attempt will be on Monday, November 7, in a five-minute window that opens at 5:27 a.m. EST (2:27 a.m. PST). Weather for that window is currently forecast as 70% favorable: High pressure looks to continue to provide tranquil weather to the Mid-Atlantic before breezy conditions impact the Wallops area Tuesday. Live coverage will begin on NASA TV and nasa.gov/live at 5 a.m. EST (2 a.m. PST).

File photo of the Northrop Grumman Antares rocket, with the company’s Cygnus spacecraft onboard, launches at 6:01 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, August 10, 2021, from the Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad-0A, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Northrop Grumman’s 16th contracted cargo resupply mission for NASA to the International Space Station is carrying nearly 8,200 pounds of science and research, crew supplies, and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew. Credit: NASA Wallops/Brian Bonsteel

Loaded with more than 8,200 pounds of research, crew supplies, and hardware, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft will launch on the company’s Antares rocket from Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad 0A on Wallops Island. This Cygnus spacecraft is named S.S. Sally Ride, in honor of the first American woman in space.

The 18th Northrop Grumman commercial resupply services mission for NASA to the International Space Station (ISS) carries scientific investigations of topics such as plant mutations and mudflow structure along with a demonstration of camera technology and small satellites from Japan, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. The Cygnus spacecraft carrying these investigations to the orbiting laboratory is now scheduled for liftoff on November 7 from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia.