An unmanned Orbital Sciences Corp Antares rocket blasted off from a seaside launch pad in Virginia toward the International Space Station on Sunday, carrying food, science samples and new odor-resistant gym clothes for the resident crew, Reuters reported. It will be the third space station delivery for NASA.
Observers from North Caroline to New Jersey had the opportunity to witness the 133-foot-tall (41-meter-tall) rocket lift off at 12:52 p.m. EDT/1652 GMT from a commercially operated launch pad at NASA's Wallops Island Flight Facility on the Virginia coast, which is planning to reach its destination, the space station, on Wednesday.
Containing more than 3,000 pounds of supplies, much of it food, the capsule also includes mini-satellites, science samples, equipment and experimental exercise clothes, the Associated Press reported. The new type of clothing has been created to be resistant to bacteria and odor buildup so that astronauts won't smell as much during their two hours of daily workout in orbit and will require fewer change of clothing.
Two companies, the Virginia-based Orbital Sciences and California's SpaceX, were hired and paid for their delivery services by NASA to keep the space station well stocked once the shuttle program ended. The mission is the second of eight station cargo runs by Orbital Sciences under a $1.9 billion contract with NASA.
The capsule is expected to remain berthed at the space station for about a month. Once unloaded, it will be filled with garbage and items no longer needed by the station crew and redirected into the atmosphere for incineration. But unlike the SpaceX Dragon capsule, the Cygnus is not built to return safely to Earth.
Saturday, meanwhile, marked the 5,000th day of continuous human habitation at the 260-mile-high outpost. Six men currently are on board, representing the United States, Russia and Germany. "Humans are explorers!" German astronaut Alexander Gerst said via Twitter.
