Weather favorable for Atlas V launch from Cape Canaveral

90 percent chance of favorable conditions, forecasters say

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The weather looks favorable for a Tuesday morning launch of an Atlas V rocket and Cygnus spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, according to the Air Force's 45th Weather Squadron.

According to our news partners at Florida Today, there's a 90 percent chance of favorable conditions during the launch window that opens at 11:11 a.m. Forecasters said the primary concern for launch day is the scattered presence of cumulus clouds.

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If liftoff from Launch Complex 41 slips to Wednesday, weather odds drop to 80 percent "go" during the window that opens at 10:48 a.m.

United Launch Alliance's 194-foot Atlas V will blast off with an Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft bound for the International Space Station with 7,600 pounds of science experiments, cargo and supplies. It will be Orbital ATK's seventh commercial resupply services mission, also known as CRS-7.

New experiments packed into the spacecraft include a Kennedy Space Center-led effort to grow plants in space known as the Advanced Plant Habitat; an investigation named "ADCs in Microgravity" that could improve chemotherapy drugs in the fight against cancer; and magnetized tools that will help reproduce Earth-like cell cultures.

Cygnus will also deploy 38 CubeSats – miniaturized satellites meant for research – primarily built by university students from around the world.

When Cygnus departs the ISS in July, it will conduct its final experiment: Saffire III. The spacecraft, loaded with trash and destined to burn up in Earth's atmosphere, will become a test bed when a fire is lit on a panel for about 20 minutes. The experiment will help further understanding of how to detect and clean up after fires in space.

The launch was delayed from March after two separate issues with ground support and booster hydraulics.