After its scheduled launch got delayed four times due to bad weather, the cargo-loaded Orbit ATK Cygnus spacecraft finally blasted off towards the International Space Station on the afternoon of Dec. 6 to deliver supplies and equipment to astronauts on the space station.
The Atlas V rocket-powered spacecraft carries more than 7,000 pounds of resources for the space scientists who are conducting investigations within the unique environment of the ISS. The cargo also includes air tanks for the space station and equipment for space walks.
"This is the beginning of an extremely busy time on station," said NASA's ISS program manager Kirk Shireman.
Shireman said they are looking forward to getting more research investigations and science facilities, as well as regular resupply to use the space station as planned. He said that it was important for them to get a regular cadence of resupply flights.
The liftoff of the Cygnus spacecraft is the first in a series of flight missions which will include a crew change, the departure of a Russian Progress cargo spacecraft from the station and the arrival of another spacecraft.
The mission also marks a string of new firsts. This is the first time that the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V powered the Cygnus spacecraft; the first flight of the Cygnus after the explosion of the Antares rocket in October 2014; the first of the new configuration of the Enhanced Cygnus and the first launch of the Atlas V rocket out of Cape Canaveral in Florida.
Officials said it took only a few moments for the booster to lift the Cygnus off the launch pad to begin a steady and accelerating ascent to space. The Atlas V blasted off through the thick Florida air and the Atlantic Ocean before the first stage spent its propellants and fell away from the rocket. The Centaur upper stage will finish the flight in orbit.
The Cygnus separated from the upper stage 21 minutes after the launch and deployed its solar arrays, an enhancement for the cargo-only spacecraft. The Cygnus will fly under the close watch of NASA and Orbital ATK ground controllers until it reaches the space station.
The spacecraft will remain connected to the ISS until January as astronauts unpack supplies and then load 3,000 pounds of used materials and equipment into it, officials said. It will burn up in the Earth's atmosphere as soon as the Cygnus is released from the station afterwards.
Meanwhile, ULA and Boeing plan to utilize the Atlas V to send astronauts to the ISS in the CST-100 Starliner for NASA's Commercial Crew Program. SpaceX is also preparing its own spacecraft/launcher combination to carry astronauts to the station.
