Antares Rocket Launches NASA Cargo to Space Station in Dazzling Predawn Liftoff [bestandroiddoubledinheadunit950.blogspot.com]

Antares Rocket Launches NASA Cargo to Space Station in Dazzling Predawn Liftoff [bestandroiddoubledinheadunit950.blogspot.com]

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. — An Orbital ATK Antares rocket lit up the clouds in the predawn sky over Virginia Monday (May 21) with a dazzling predawn launch to deliver more than 3 tons of vital supplies to the International Space Station.

The Antares rocket launched an uncrewed Cygnus cargo ship at 4:44 a.m. EDT (0844 GMT) from Pad-0A of NASA's Wallops Flight Facility here, and successfully reached orbit 9 minutes later. The Cygnus, also built by Orbital ATK, is expected to arrive at the space station on Thursday (May 24).

"In fond memory of [the Cygnus spacecraft's namesake] Mr. J.R. Thompson, we wish Cygnus a smooth journey on the rest of their journey to the International Space Station," a spokesperson from NASA's Mission Control said after annoucing that the spacecraft had reached orbit.

Because of its predawn timing, Monday's launch was expected to be visible to potentially millions of spectators along the U.S. East Coast. More than 2,000 people were expected at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility Visitor Center alone, NASA officials said.

Orbital ATK's Cygnus is packed with 7,385 lbs. (3,350 kilograms) of experiments, clothing, food and other supplies for the six Expedition 55 crewmembers currently living aboard the International Space Station.

That gear includes the Cold Atom Laboratory, an experiment built by scientists to create the coldest spot in the universe using lasers, as well as a closed-loop plant growth experiment, a sextant for navigation studies, and a series of cubesats that will be deployed in orbit from both the station and the Cygnus itself once it departs the orbiting laboratory.

"What's also important is it will bring home almost 3 tons of cargo back from the space station," Kirk Shireman, NASA's space station program manager, told reporters Sunday (May 20).

The Cygnus spacecraft is a disposable vehicle designed to intentionally burn up in Earth's atmosphere at the end of its mission. Before leaving the space station, it will be filled with tons of trash and other unneeded items for disposal, according to its mission profile. Orbital ATK named this Cygnus the S.S. J.R. Thompson in honor of J.R. Thompson, a former NASA director and Orbital ATK executive who died last November.

Monday's launch marked the ninth cargo delivery mission for NASA by the Dulles, Virginia-based Orbital ATK under a $2.9 billion contract for 11 such missions in all. It was the seventh Orbital ATK cargo mission to use the company's Orbital ATK's Antares rocket. The other two missions launched on Atlas V rockets built by the United Launch Alliance, a partnership of Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

Orbital ATK is one of two companies currently ferrying cargo to the International Space Station for NASA. The other is SpaceX, which is expected to fly 20 delivery flights for NASA as part of a contract valued at just over $3 billion. SpaceX has flown 14 of those missions so far using its Falcon 9 rockets and Dragon spacecraft.

NASA has also picked Orbital ATK, SpaceX and another company —Sierra Nevada Corp. — for a new round of cargo delivery contracts under its Commercial Resupply Services 2 program. Sierra Nevada will use its uncrewed Dream Chaser space planes and Atlas V rockets to make its deliveries.

Visit Space.com Thursday for complete docking coverage of the Cygnus OA-9 mission.

Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

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https://www.space.com/40645-orbital-atk-antares-rocket-predawn-launch-oa9.html Antares Rocket Launches NASA Cargo to Space Station in Dazzling Predawn Liftoff

[bestandroiddoubledinheadunit950.blogspot.com]Antares Rocket Launches NASA Cargo to Space Station in Dazzling Predawn Liftoff