Within minutes of the launch, astronaut Scott Kelly posted a picture on Twitter of the rocket headed to where he is on the International Space Station anxiously awaiting its arrival.
Advertisement
This launch marked the 60th straight success for the venerable Atlas V, the first ever Atlas V rocket that hurled a commercial Cygnus cargo freighter to the International Space Station (ISS), and the “Return to Flight” for Cygnus.
“This launch marks the completion of the critical first step of our go-forward plan for the CRS-1 contract to meet our commitments to NASA”, said Frank Culbertson, President of Orbital ATK’s Space System Group, in a statement.
Orbital ATK arranged to use United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket while it upgrades its Antares rocket, which failed due to a problem with its reconditioned Ukrainian engine.
Orbital ATK’s upgraded Antares launch vehicle remains on schedule for a full-power hot-fire test in early 2016 and resumption of flight operations from the Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia in the second quarter of the year. NASA’s other commercial supplier, SpaceX, is also sidelined by an accident.
Supplies at the station are running low due to several failed delivery runs and botched rocket launches.
The U.S. shipment contains food, clothes, toiletries, spacewalking gear, science experiments and Christmas presents.
More than anyone, perhaps, the six space station astronauts were thrilled following all the weather-related delays.
The ISS is also supplied by deliveries from Russia, Japan and Europe.
The processing team preparing the Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft for launch on December 3, 2015 poses with the SS Deke Slayton II cargo ship and twin payload enclosure fairings inside the Kennedy Space Center clean room during media visit on November 13, 2015.
Orbital ATK is one of two private space companies NASA hired to service the space station.
The 7,000 pounds of food, parts and science experiments on board is bound for the International Space Station.
The spacecraft should arrive at the space station on Wednesday.
SpaceX is preparing its own spacecraft combination – Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon – to carry astronauts to the station in the near future.
Advertisement
A Russian Progress ship was also lost after launch in April, but ISS program managers said the astronauts were never in danger and still have several months of supplies in storage.
