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[b]Loose umbilical scrubs Antares test flight[/b] Scrub! Orbital Sciences on Wednesday (April 17) cut short the first attempt at launching the A-ONE test flight of their Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The countdown was halted at T-minus 12 minutes due to the "premature separation" of a launch pad umbilical connection to the rocket's upper stage, which is used for data communications. Orbital's engineers are analyzing what occurred to determine how to resolve the issue. The next launch attempt is tentatively set for no earlier than Friday (April 19) at 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT), pending final resolution of the problem and acceptable weather conditions. "We are still examining all of the data, but it appears that the issue is fairly straightforward," Frank Culbertson, Orbital's mission director for the test flight, said. "With this being the first launch of the new system from a new launch facility we have taken prudent steps to ensure a safe and successful outcome." "Our scrub procedures were exercised and worked as planned," he added. "We are looking forward to a successful launch on Friday."
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