Look at NASA's launch cargo of Wallops Island

WALLOPS ISLAND – The International Space Station's first 3D printer with its own recycling system travels to the orbital lab aboard a Northrop Grumman spacecraft.

The Cygnus Space Shuttle was launched Saturday morning aboard an Antares rocket, carrying 7,400 pounds of food to help dozens of investigations and research projects conducted on the space station, NASA said in a statement.

The charge includes the space station's first 3D printer and all-in-one rebreather, known as the "Refabricator," NASA said. It will be able to use plastic materials and old 3D printed parts on the space station and recycle them into a new "ink" for 3D printers that will allow astronauts to create new tools in the space.

The technology will also significantly reduce the need to continuously launch large inventories of new materials and new parts for repairs and maintenance, "NASA said. This should in turn reduce the cost of replenishing the space station.

The first 3D printed object made in space was manufactured in 2014, said NASA.

The spacecraft was launched from NASA's Wallops flight facility on the east coast of Virginia, and is expected to reach the ISS and dock at approximately 5:20 am Monday, NASA said.

The Cygnus craft was named SS John Young, according to NASA's oldest astronaut, according to Northrop Grumman. Young was the commander of NASA's first shuttle mission and was recognized as a pioneer of manned spaceflight. He died in January.

This is the tenth cargo replenishment mission of Northrop Grumman, a major national security provider in the United States, the company said.