spacetoday.net: Antares rocket rolled to launch pad

Posted: Mon, Apr 8, 2013, 6:14 AM ET (1014 GMT)
Antares on pad for A-ONE launch (Orbital Sciences)

The first Antares rocket moved to its Virginia launch pad early Saturday in preparation for its launch later this month. The Antares rocket rolled horizontally from assembly building to the launch pad at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at Wallops Island, Virginia, Saturday morning, and then was erected vertically on the pad. The rocket is scheduled to lift off on a demonstration flight, designated A-ONE, on the afternoon of April 17. Orbital developed Antares as part of its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) agreement with NASA. This launch will carry only a demonstration payload, plus several small satellites as secondary payloads. A second launch planned for the middle of this year will fly the first Cygnus cargo spacecraft, also developed under COTS, to the International Space Station.