Launch Photos: Orbital ATK's Upgraded Antares Rocket Returns to Flight

Liftoff for Antares Rocket on OA-5

NASA/Bill Ingalls

An upgraded Orbital ATK Antares rocket soars into the night sky over NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia on Oct. 17, 2016, beginning a Cygnus cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station for NASA. It was Orbital ATK's first Antares rocket launch since a 2014 accident.

Orbital ATK Antares Rocket Launch

NASA/Bill Ingalls

The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, launches from Pad-0A, Monday, Oct. 17, 2016 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Guest Watch the Orbital ATK Antares Rocket

NASA/Bill Ingalls

Guest watch the Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, launches from Pad-0A, Monday, Oct. 17, 2016 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Orbital ATK Antares Rocket Closeup

NASA/Bill Ingalls

The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, launches from Pad-0A, Monday, Oct. 17, 2016 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Antares Rocket Launch from Pad-OA

NASA/Bill Ingalls

The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, launches from Pad-0A, Monday, Oct. 17, 2016 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Antares Launch Team

NASA/Bill Ingalls

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden congratulates the Orbital ATK Antares rocket, and Cygnus spacecraft launch teams in the Range Control Center at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility after the successful launch, Monday, Oct. 17, 2016 in Virginia.

Antares Rocket Launches, Oct. 17, 2016

NASA TV

Orbital ATK's Antares rocket lifts off from the pad on Oct. 17, 2016, on a mission to deliver the Cygnus cargo capsule to orbit.

Antares Engines Burn Bright

NASA TV

The first-stage engines of Orbital ATK's Antares rocket burn bright in the skies above Virginia shortly after the booster's liftoff on Oct. 17, 2016.

Sunday's sunrise behind Antares

NASA/Bill Ingalls

The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, is seen on launch Pad-0A during sunrise, Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Orbital ATK Antares on Launchpad Oct. 16

NASA/Bill Ingalls

The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, stands tall on the launchpad as the sun rises behind it on Sunday (Oct. 16) at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Orbital ATK Antares on the Launch Pad

NASA/Bill Ingalls

Orbital ATK's first Antares rocket since a 2014 accident stands atop its Pad-0A launchpad at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia on Saturday (Oct. 15).

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Hanneke Weitering
Contributing expert

Hanneke Weitering is a multimedia journalist in the Pacific Northwest reporting on the future of aviation at FutureFlight.aero and Aviation International News and was previously the Editor for Spaceflight and Astronomy news here at Space.com. As an editor with over 10 years of experience in science journalism she has previously written for Scholastic Classroom Magazines, MedPage Today and The Joint Institute for Computational Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. After studying physics at the University of Tennessee in her hometown of Knoxville, she earned her graduate degree in Science, Health and Environmental Reporting (SHERP) from New York University. Hanneke joined the Space.com team in 2016 as a staff writer and producer, covering topics including spaceflight and astronomy. She currently lives in Seattle, home of the Space Needle, with her cat and two snakes. In her spare time, Hanneke enjoys exploring the Rocky Mountains, basking in nature and looking for dark skies to gaze at the cosmos.