The commercial spaceflight company Orbital Sciences is targeting no earlier than Sunday, April 21, to launch its first Antares rocket. Liftoff is set for 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT). Strong high-altitude winds on Saturday forced Orbital to call off an attempted launch.

 

An attempt to launch the rocket on Wednesday was delayed due to a premature separation of an ethernet cable from the second stage of the booster. The cable is used to send commands to the rocket's main computer, which is located on the second stage. Foul weather on Friday prompted Orbital officials to target Saturday. The rocket will launch from a new pad at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va.