– A fresh batch of supplies is headed for the International Space Station after a spectacular moonlight nighttime launch from Florida.
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In this photo taken with a long exposure, hundreds line the beach north of the Cocoa Beach Pier in Florida to watch launch of the Orbital ATKs Cygnus spacecraft off the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Tuesday, March 22, 2016.
Perched on top of the rocket was a Cygnus capsule loaded with almost 7,500lbs (3,400 kg) of food, science experiments and equipment including a 3D printer to build tools for astronauts and non-stick grippers modelled after gecko feet.
The experimental Gecko Gripper is a new kind of adhesive that mimics the way gecko lizards cling to surfaces without falling. Also included is a fire experiment that will remain on the Cygnus.
“It is really up to NASA in terms of what types of missions they order in the future”, said Frank Culbertson, president of the Space Systems Group at Orbital ATK and a former NASA astronaut. “We have offered both Atlas and Antares missions and it depends on what they need and what type of delivery they would like to have”.
The space station is about to experience something of a traffic jam. The Cygnus arrives Saturday. Centaur, the upper stage of the rocket, nailed the orbital parameters for planned trajectory before separating from the Cygnus spacecraft 21 minutes after launch. “They can send their hardware on the rocket to the space station, or they can just send us a digital file, and we’ll create your part on station”. A Russian shipment also ended up destroyed. This is the second Cygnus assigned to an Atlas; the first flew from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in December.
Orbital ATK this summer plans to resume launching the Cygnus from Virginia’s Eastern Shore on its Antares rocket, which has been outfitted with new main engines after a launch failure in 2014.
The latest Cygnus launch is said to carry the most number of supplies than any of the five previous cargo supply missions.
A less heated investigation called “Meteor Composition Determination” will enable the first space-based observations of meteors entering Earth’s atmosphere from space, the U.S. space agency said in a statement.
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Husband’s wife, Evelyn, and two children were on hand to see the launch. Earlier this month, USA astronaut Scott Kelly returned from a yearlong stay at the station, helping to push that goal forward.
