NASA Cargo Launches to Space Station Aboard Orbital ATK Resupply Mission

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off from launch complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Sunday, December 6, 2015, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The spacecraft is now on its way to the International Space Station, the first such trip in approximately 18 months.

The liftoff Sunday atop the Atlas V rocket went smoothly, with no flaws or problems after a launch delay of several days due to bad weather. For this mission, Orbital ATK bought another company’s rocket, the Atlas V. Russian Federation also lost a supply ship earlier this year, reports WFTV9.

During that failed 2014 launch, the 14-story rocket faltered just after launch, then exploded, before falling back onto the launch pad with a second larger explosion.

Orbital ATK’s composite structures and solid rocket motors also supported today’s launch of the ULA Atlas V rocket.

Orbital’s Cygnus cargo carrier is full of food, clothes, toiletries, spacewalking gear, science experiments and Christmas presents.

The launch took place under gloomy Florida skies on the fourth try following of trio of scrubs forced by heavy downpours and blustery winds sweeping through the ‘sunshine state. This capability, combined with the flexibility of ULA’s Atlas V, enabled Orbital ATK to carry out the mission on a shortened schedule to be responsive to NASA’s ISS logistics requirements.

“We want to get going”, Frank DeMauro, a vice president with NASA’s contracted shipper, Orbital ATK, said shortly before liftoff.

It is a very significant mission mainly because past year, there were two other delivery failures. Cygnus’ pressurized cargo module has been extended and increases the spacecraft’s interior volume capacity by 25 percent, allowing more cargo to be delivered with each mission.

The Cygnus capsule, expected to arrive on Wednesday, will be the first USA shipment to the station since April.

The six space station astronauts managed to photograph the rising capsule from their windows as both craft made their way over the Atlantic.

United Launch Alliance builds and flies the powerful Atlas V, a workhorse normally used to hoist satellites for the Air Force and others.

Like most Orbital ATK spacecraft, Cygnus is compatible with multiple launch vehicles. For these missions, NASA will manifest a variety of essential items based on ISS program needs, including food, clothing, crew supplies, spare parts, laboratory equipment and scientific experiments.