Dispatches from a NASA spaceport: Adventures at an aborted rocket launch

A PhoneSat prototype, similar to three launched on the Antares rocket.

Matthew R. Francis

Last week, we tried very hard to get you coverage of the first launch of Antares, a new rocket system designed for supply runs to the International Space Station. It didn't work out, but we thought we'd give you a window into experiencing a launch that never happened.

1:50 PM After over three hours en route, your intrepid reporter arrives at the NASA Wallops visitor center. Based on the number of cars parked in the grassy spillover area adjacent to the parking lot, I suspect this may be one of the busiest days Wallops had seen since its founding in 1945. (The Wallops Flight Facility, as it's officially known, predates NASA: it was built for NACA, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.) Thanks to hitting what felt like every red light along highway 13 on the Delmarva Peninsula, I'm running about 15 minutes behind where I hoped to be. However, the program hasn't started yet, so I collect my media packet and join the reporters and NASA Social participants in the briefing room.

NASA Wallops historically has focused on suborbital launches and balloons. Today's scheduled launch, however, is a test of the new Antares rocket, developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation, which is designed in part to deliver supplies to the International Space Station. In other words, this is the biggest rocket yet launched from Wallops.