CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.— One of NASA’s two commercial suppliers, Virginia-based Orbital, faces an uphill struggle in resuming deliveries to the International Space Station, according to a government report issued Thursday.
The space agency’s inspector general office said the company’s upcoming flight plan contains significant risks, as its attempts to recover from last October’s launch explosion. Orbital’s Antares rocket failed seconds after liftoff from Virginia, destroying the space station goods and damaging the launch complex. It was Orbital’s fourth supply mission, including a 2013 test flight.
Orbital remains grounded, as does SpaceX, NASA’s other commercial shipper, following a failed launch from Cape Canaveral in June. It was the California-based SpaceX’s eighth shipment for NASA. Russia and Japan also send up supplies.
Orbital is working to get cargo to the space station as early as December by putting it on another company’s rocket in Cape Canaveral. At the same time, Orbital — which merged with ATK earlier this year — hopes to resume Antares flights from Virginia next year with new engines.
