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OA-6 (Atlas V) 22 March 2016 |
Space Launch Complex 41 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station |
| A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launched Orbital ATK's Cygnus spacecraft carrying almost 7,500 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware for NASA on a commercial cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. Launch occurred at 11:05 p.m. on 22 March 2016 from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Cygnus spacecraft will spend almost two months at ISS before departing for a destructive reentry into Earth's atmosphere carrying approximately 3,000 pounds of trash. | |
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| Weather looked good prior to the launch with a high, broken cloud deck. Note at left the white lights and shadows shining on the clouds from the spotlights illuminating the rocket out at the pad. Exploration Tower at Port Canaveral is the claw-like building at right. | |
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| At launch time a large, solid cloud moved over the Port blocking all but the beginning of the launch seen at right intermittently through the clouds in this time exposure. Below are closer views of the rocket passing through the clouds. | |
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| The movie below uses the time exposures to make a short, repeating time lapse video of the launch showing how the cloud moved. If the launch had been delayed another five minutes the cloud would have been out of the way. | |
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