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WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. – A cargo of space station supplies exploded into orbit from Virginia on Saturday, the second shipment in two days.
And another commercial delivery is expected in a few weeks.
"What a great launch," said Joel Montalbano, NASA Space Station Program Manager.
Northrop Grumman launched his Antares rocket from Wallops Island before dawn, delighting cold hasty observers along the Atlantic coast. The Russian Space Agency has launched its own supplies for the International Space Station Friday, barely 15 hours earlier.
The US delivery arrived Monday at the laboratory in orbit, a day after sending by Russia. Among the 7,400 pounds of goods contained in the Cygnus capsule: ice cream and fresh fruit for the three residents of the space station, and a 3D printer that recycles old plastic into new parts.
Thanksgiving turkey dinners – of course, can be rehydrated – are already on board the outpost of more than 250 km. The space station currently houses an American, a German and a Russian.
There is another big event to come: the space station marks its 20th anniversary in orbit on Tuesday. The first section was launched on November 20, 1998 from Kazakhstan.
"As we celebrate the 20 years of the International Space Station," said Mr. Montalbano, "one of the most interesting aspects is the cooperation between us around the world." Then there is the US commercial effort to keep the space station supplied and, from next year, resume crew launches from Cape Canaveral. "For me it was a huge success," he said.
This Cygnus, or Swan, bears the name of S.S. John Young in honor of the legendary astronaut who walked on the moon and commanded the first space shuttle flight. He died in January.
It is the first commercial cargo ship to bear the name of Northrop Grumman. Northrop Grumman acquired Orbital ATK in June. SpaceX is the other commercial sender of NASA for the space station. its Dragon capsule should take off in early December.
The experiments that will arrive via the Swan will allow us to observe how the cement solidifies in weightlessness. There are also medical equipment, space suits and other equipment to replace objects that were never put into orbit last month due to a Russian rocket failure; the two men who mounted the rocket survived their emergency landing. Three more astronauts are expected to leave Kazakhstan on 3 December.
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