Commercial Spacecraft Launches on Resupply Mission to ISS

A commercial spacecraft from Northrop Grumman is en route to the International Space Station (ISS) after successfully launching on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday. The mission, known as the 21st commercial services mission for NASA, was delayed due to inclement weather but lifted off at 11:02 a.m. EDT from Florida's Canaveral Space Force Station.

"This is the second time SpaceX has provided launch services for a Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply mission for NASA." - Florida Today, a USA Today publication

Reaching the ISS:

Despite missing its first burn to orient the spacecraft, the Cygnus deployed its solar arrays and reached a safe altitude. Northrop Grumman engineers are working on a new burn and trajectory plan to ensure the spacecraft arrives at the ISS on time, early Tuesday morning.

Cargo Overview:

The Cygnus spacecraft is carrying ~8,200 pounds of supplies, hardware, and scientific experiments for the ISS crew. This includes:

• Water recovery technology tests
• Supplies for producing blood and immune stem cells in microgravity
• Materials to study spaceflight effects on engineered liver tissue and microorganism DNA
• A balloon, penny, and hexnut for a STEM demonstration on centripetal force

NASA's live coverage of the launch:

• NASA+
• [NASA Television](http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/#.Yf pals ToPJw)
• NASA app
• NASA YouTube Channel
• NASA Website

Sources:

• NASA Blog: Solar Array Deployment
• NASA News Release
• NASA: 21st Northrop Grumman Mission Overview
• NASA: Unity Module
• NASA: Cygnus Cargo Details
• STEM Demonstration