AlQa'dah 12, 1434, Sep 18, 2013, SPA -- An unmanned Antares rocket was launched from the Virginia coast on Wednesday, sending a new cargo capsule to the International Space Station (ISS). The rocket, developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation, lifted off from the state-owned Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island. The two-stage booster, making its second flight, soared southeast over the Atlantic Ocean leaving behind a pillar of smoke visible from New York City to South Carolina. On top of the rocket was Orbital Sciences' new Cygnus freighter, one of two robotic spaceships developed in partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to fly cargo to the ISS following the recent retirement of the space-shuttle program. The capsule was expected to reach the orbiting laboratory 400 kilometers above Earth on Sunday. Privately owned Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), which began work 18 months before Orbital Sciences, so far has made three trips to the ISS. NASA invested $686 million in the two companies and awarded them contracts totaling $3.5 billion to fly cargo to the station.
