Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spaceship blasts off to space station on resupply mission

“As we celebrate Orbital ATK’s success with its fourth cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station, we look forward to the next milestones of our other commercial partners, including commercial crew launches from American soil in the near future”.

NASA’s spirits soared Sunday as weather forecasters offered significantly better odds of launching a rocket with much-needed supplies to the International Space Station.

The space station’s astronauts were able to witness the launch from their vantage point in orbit.

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.

SpaceX made the last successful supply run from the U.S.in April. Both cargo lines had been shut down by failed rocket launches.

The California-based SpaceX aims to resume deliveries next month, while Virginia’s Orbital hopes to get its Antares flying again in May, 1 1/2 years after a devastating launch explosion. This is its first station mission. 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.

In a string of failed resupply cargo ship launches, the space station has been struggling to rebound from this series of unfortunate events.

On Sunday, private spaceflight company Orbital ATK returned its Cygnus cargo ship to flight with a superb afternoon launch after a year’s gap. But it picked up the slack and has another resupply mission scheduled just before Christmas; Japan has chipped in as well. It’s carrying about 7,300 pounds (about 3,300 kg) of food, hardware, and scientific equipment for Expedition 44 crew members. However, according to NASA’s space station program manager, Kirk Shireman, this has not been a critical situation at all.

Also aboard the newest Cygnus capsule: clothes, toiletries, spacewalking gear, air-supply tanks and science experiments.

The launch team was awaiting a favorable weather window during the past three days to launch the mission.

This launch marked the 60th straight success for the venerable Atlas V, the first ever Atlas V rocket that hurled a commercial Cygnus cargo freighter to the International Space Station (ISS), and the “Return to Flight” for Cygnus.