The rocket had been due to take off on Wednesday, but lift-off was cancelled three hours before launch after fire extinguishing fluids were detected leaking from parts of the equipment.
To boost domestic oil supply, Mr McCain wants to lift the long-standing ban on drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts (although, unlike Sarah Palin, he would keep the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge off-limits).
Joanne Maguire, overall head of the company's space programs, said in an interview that the Orion capsule is slated to blast off on top of a heavy-lift version of the U.S. military's Delta IV rocket.