After 2014 explosion, Orbital ATK’s rocket is set to fly again

Orbital ATK hasn’t flown since its Antares rocket blew up seconds after liftoff in October 2014, burning up thousands of pounds of supplies bound for the International Space Station.

The company now has its big comeback tentatively scheduled for October 16 at 8:03pm Eastern–if Hurricane Nicole doesn’t cause too much of a problem in Florida.

The launch was already pushed back because of contingency planning for Hurricane Matthew, which didn’t end up causing too much trouble at the Florida launch site, prevented the team from tackling a “minor vehicle processing issue” in time for the original October 13 launch date.

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When it finally does take off, the Antares 230 is slated to take off with about 5,300 pounds of supplies for the astronauts on the space station.

Orbital was supposed to be ready for takeoff a few months ago, but ran into some delays.

And such is to be expected, considering the company has been retrofitting the Antares rocket with entirely new engines–hence the new name, Antares 230. In the meantime, the company has been sending shipments to the space station by hitching a ride on another company’s rockets.

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