Cygnus Cargo Ship

Cygnus Cargo Ship, Atlas V Blaze Path to Station

By Steven Siceloff

More than 3½ tons of science experiments, flight equipment and supplies are on their way to the International Space Station following the liftoff at 11:05:52 p.m. EDT Tuesday of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida carrying an Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft.

The experiments are critical to the station's mission to carry out research that benefits everyone on Earth in a wide variety of disciplines. Astronauts on the station also perform scientific examinations aimed at deciphering solutions for the challenges crews of deep-space missions will face on a journey to Mars. The international crews of Expeditions 47 and 48 will conduct about 250 scientific studies during their work on the station, dozens of them supported by the equipment carried on the Cygnus.

The investigations will cover areas ranging from fire in space, to observing meteors from orbit as they dive into Earth's atmosphere, to examining a new adhesive method inspired by the microscopic hairs that let geckos climb and hang upside down. Cygnus is also carrying a next-generation 3D printer designed to manufacture items in orbit.

"Clearly this team was ready to go do this launch tonight," said Kenneth Todd, the space station's Operations Integration manager. "The space station is ready and the crew is ready."

Named for the late astronaut and shuttle commander Rick Husband, the Cygnus carries only cargo to the orbiting laboratory, no astronauts are onboard the spacecraft. The spacecraft flies autonomously and is overseen by ground controllers at Orbital ATK's control center in Dulles, Virginia, as well as by Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 shone brilliantly against the pitch black of night when the Atlas V's first stage engine revved to life and lifted the 19-story-tall rocket and spacecraft straight up. The yellow-orange flames of the exhaust illuminated the clear sky for miles around as the rocket carried Cygnus on an arcing path that lined up closely with the space station's orbit. This was the second Cygnus to liftoff on an Atlas V.

After about four minutes and 15 seconds of flight, the empty first stage was jettisoned as scheduled so the Centaur upper stage could power the Cygnus the rest of the way into orbit. A 14-minute burn was enough to place Cygnus on its proper course. After maneuvering the spacecraft into the correct position, the Centaur was jettisoned and Cygnus flew on its own, opening its twin, circular solar arrays a few minutes later to recharge its batteries using solar energy.

"We all know it takes a lot of hard work to make it look easy and the team did that," said Frank Culbertson, president of Orbital ATK's Space Systems Group.

The cylindrical Cygnus, measuring about 21 feet long and 10 feet in diameter, will approach the space station Saturday morning. Flying a precise course, the Cygnus will maneuver within reach of the station's 55-foot-long robotic arm. NASA astronaut Tim Kopra and European Space Agency astronaut Tim Peake will use the arm to grapple the Cygnus and pull it toward the Earth-facing port of the Unity module where it will be berthed for about two months.

Astronauts will unload the spacecraft before steadily loading it with about 3,000 pounds of expended equipment and trash. Sometime in May, the astronauts will use the arm again to release Cygnus into its own orbit. Flying by itself again and with no one onboard, the automated Saffire experiment will be activated to study the spread of a large fire in space. Previous research has focused on very small combustion studies, but this one is deemed crucial to seeing how a large fire spreads in microgravity so in an unlikely emergency, future crews can know how to fight such a blaze.

The Cygnus will steer itself into the atmosphere to close out the mission a few days later when it burns up and falls into the Pacific Ocean.