Orbital ATK Cygnus rocket carrying supplies and science experiments is set for Tuesday launch to the International Space Station.
Details Of Launch
The launch will be held at 11:05 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The send-off period extends for 30 minutes.
The Cygnus will be launched atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and will glide its way to the ISS in a period of three days.
Once it arrived at the station, ISS crew and ground controllers will activate the station's robotic arms to hold Cygnus and dock it to the port of the Harmony module.
Cygnus will stay in place for about two months, after which, it will be released to burn up in the atmosphere.
Science Experiments
Part of the more than 3.5 tons of cargo that Cygnus will be carrying are the different government and private science experiments, which the astronauts are tasked to do.
Among the said science experiments include a gecko gripper or an adhesive system inspired by the tiny hairs on a gecko's feet; Strata-1, which was created to evaluate the behavior of soil on small, airless objects such as asteroids; the re-flying Meteor, which evaluates the chemical composition of meteors entering the Earth; and Saffire, which will look at how fire behaves in space.
Cygnus will also be carrying more 24 nanosatellites that will be released from either the spacecraft or the station numerous times during the mission to test the range of science and technology, including Earth observations.
ISS Crew Supplies
Cygnus will also serve as box full of goodies for the astronauts currently living and working at the ISS. This is because it will carry supplies of clothes, food and some surprises for the team.
"It's like Christmas when a supply craft arrives," says former shuttle and station astronaut Dan Tani, who is now working with Orbital ATK.
The latest Cygnus launch is said to carry the most number of supplies than any of the five previous cargo supply missions.
Aside from goodies and cool science experiments, cargo missions also carry necessary materials such as new space suits and high-pressure cylinders to recharge the air stock of the ISS.
Before Cygnus leaves, astronauts will pack their trash and other materials that are no longer needed in the spacecraft. Cygnus will then be released to burn up in the atmosphere and end with a high-impact landing in the Pacific Ocean.
In December 2015, Cygnus was also able to successfully resupply ISS via the Atlas V rocket.
