On the fourth day of attempts, United Launch Alliance Atlas V launched from Brevard County Sunday afternoon with Orbital ATK’s Cygnus on board heading toward the International Space Station.
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A USA shipment of much-needed groceries and other astronaut supplies rocketed toward the International Space Station for the first time in months Sunday, reigniting NASAs commercial delivery service.
The liftoff Sunday atop the Atlas S rocket went easily, with no flaws or issues after a launch delay of a number of days resulting from unsafe climate. Shipper Orbital ATK is using another company’s rocket because its own, the Antares, has been grounded since 2014. SpaceX opened the commercial pipeline to the space station in 2012, a year after NASA’s shuttles retired.
The capsule, which is loaded with more than 7,700 pounds of food, clothing, science experiments and other equipment, is due to arrive at the station on Wednesday.
NASA has also contracted with Orbital ATK to fly three additional missions through 2018. It was the company’s first failure since making the first commercial space station shipment in 2012.
Forecasters initially put the odds of good weather at 60 per cent for Thursday’s 5:55 p.m. ET launch attempt.
Today’s launch is the first for the enhanced Cygnus, which carries 53 percent more cargo weight.
NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, from his vantage point aboard the International Space Station, photographed the launch of Orbital ATK’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. United Launch Alliance is a joint venture of Boeing Defense, Space & Security and Lockheed Martin Space Systems. This is the first time that the United Launch Alliances Atlas V has served the space station.
The California-based SpaceX aims to resume deliveries next month, while Virginia’s Orbital hopes to get its Antares flying again in May, 1 ½ years after a devastating launch explosion. “Cygnus will spend more than a month attached to the space station, before its destructive re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, disposing of about 3,000 pounds of trash”.
Cygnus is a low-risk design incorporating elements drawn from Orbital ATK and its partners’ existing, flight-proven spacecraft technologies. While acknowledging 2015 has been a hard year because of the disrupted supply chain, Shireman said commercial space is inevitable and will drive down launch costs. It is our future, Shireman stressed at a news conference last week.
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Cygnus is named the “SS Deke Slayton II” in memory of Deke Slayton, one of the America’s original seven Mercury astronauts.
