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

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. The highly-anticipated launch, visible across much of the Mid-Atlantic, was full of drama and tension for Dulles-based Orbital ATK, which lost another unmanned Antares in a massive fireball two years ago. The problem then was with the rocket's engines--prompting the switch to the Russian-made RD-181.