Orbital ATK's unmanned Antares rocket blasted off Monday night from Wallops Island. It was the first flight of an Antares since a launch explosion on Oct. 28, 2014, that wrecked the pad and destroyed everything on the space station supply run.
[Ads /]
For the long-awaited comeback, the pad underwent a $15 million face-lift, and the rocket got new Russian engines.
The launch provided a show for sky gazers along much of the East Coast.
[Ads /]
The cargo ship, named Cygnus after the swan constellation, will have to hang around in orbit until Sunday before making the 5,000-pound delivery. That will give three astronauts time to launch from Kazakhstan and get to the station.