Forecasters give 40 percent odds for the planned 4:44 p.m. liftoff. A Russian Progress ship was also lost after launch in April.
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Cygnus is carrying 7,400 pounds of cargo, including a much needed food supply, materials needed for space experiments and.
Orbital bought another company’s rocket, the veteran Atlas 5, for this supply mission.
If all goes according to plan, in a few days, Commander Scott Kelly, who is now spending one year in space, can look forward to unloading more food supplies, clothes and plenty of science experiments – the results of which can help benefit future missions.
NASA’s other commercial supplier, SpaceX, is also stuck on Earth.
The mission is Orbital ATK’s fourth cargo delivery flight to the station through NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract. The first Slayton craft was the name of the last Cygnus to launch on the ill-fated October 2014 launch. Orbital ATK’s engineering team confirmed that reliable communications has been established and that the vehicle’s solar arrays are fully deployed, providing the necessary electrical power to operate the spacecraft.
Orbital ATK suspended deliveries to the ISS after the crash. This capability, combined with the flexibility of ULA’s Atlas V, enabled Orbital ATK to carry out the mission on a shortened schedule to be responsive to NASA’s ISS logistics requirements.
The company grounded the rocket to replace its troubled Soviet-era main engines and hopes to return the refurbished booster to flight in May.
It was followed eight months later by a SpaceX rocket explosion, and the consecutive accidents effectively shut off the flow of United States supplies to astronauts in orbit. “Be ready”, added Frank Culbertson, head of Orbital ATK’s Space Systems Group, in congratulatory remarks to the launch team.
The payload is a Cygnus space capsule containing supplies for the International Space Station.
Like most Orbital ATK spacecraft, Cygnus is compatible with multiple launch vehicles. Cygnus consists of a common Service Module (SM) and a Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM).
“Additionally, the launch of this mission clearly demonstrates the successful collaboration our wing has with our partners at NASA Kennedy Space Center, the Space and Missile Systems Center and industry”.
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In addition, Cygnus will deliver replacement cargo items including a set of Microsoft HoloLens devices for use in NASA’s Sidekick project, a safety jet pack astronauts wear during spacewalks known as SAFER, and high pressure nitrogen and oxygen tanks to plug into the station’s air supply network.
