The initial test flight of the Antares rocket is expected sometime in October 2012. The launch site is NASA's launch facility at Wallops Island in Virginia, called the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, or MARS for short.
The Antares rocket is an expendable launch system. It is a two stage vehicle designed to launch payloads weighing up to 7,000 kilograms (15,000 pounds) into low-Earth orbit.
The Hampton Roads Daily Press article NASA Wallops set to launch its biggest rocket states, "Virginia's "Space Coast" ambitions are getting a big boost as NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore prepares to launch the biggest rocket in its 67-year history."
And, "Called the Antares, the rocket is expected to become a workhorse in the commercial space industry over the next several years, ferrying cargo to the International Space Station."
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The MARS launch pad 0A (LP-0A) will be used to launch Antares. It is the former launch pad for the Conestoga rocket.
If all goes well with this test flight, Orbital Sciences hopes to put its Cygnus 1 capsule on top of the Antares for an unmanned flight sometime in December 2012.
Eventually the Cynus 1 capsule could send cargo to the Space Station. If it does it will be the fifth unmanned vehicle to resupply the International Space Station.
The first four were the Russian Progress, European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV), and the SpaceX Dragon.
For more information on the Antares rocket, view the Orbital Sciences website "Antares"
The YouTube video "Antares Cargo Launch Vehicle Makes First Trip to Launch Pad at Wallops" -- shown above -- shows the first stage being rolled out to the launch pad: The caption states, "Orbital Sciences Corporation is conducting "pathfinder" operations for the critical process of rolling out the Antares rocket to the launch pad at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBdV0FroZxI)
And, "Orbital's launch vehicle will be conducting missions to the International Space Station for NASA as part of the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Program and in support of the Cargo Resupply Services contract. The first stage was rolled out of the Horizontal Integration Facility April 11 and erected on the launch pad April 16 and 17."
