Orbital ATK resumes flight from Wallops Island, Va., in a stunning launch visible for miles

Christian Davenport | The Washington Post | October 17 at 8:04 PM

Orbital ATK returned to flight Monday evening by christening a refurbished Virginia launchpad with a smooth rocket liftoff two years after an explosion caused $15 million in damage.

Flying an updated Antares rocket with new engines, the company sent its unmanned Cygnus spacecraft into orbit at 7:45 p.m., chasing down the International Space Station on a cargo resupply mission for NASA. The spacecraft is scheduled to reach the station Sunday to deliver 5,100 pounds of cargo and supplies to the astronauts there. more