Orbital cargo ship blasts off toward space station

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V (401 configuration) rocket carrying the OA-4 Cygnus cargo spacecraft with much needed supplies blasted off towards the International Space Station (ISS) on 6 December 2015.

The Atlas V launch vehicle lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station carrying a Cygnus resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station.

An Orbital rocket exploded on a supply run in October 2014, while SpaceX suffered a launch failure in June.

The launch marks Orbital’s fourth scheduled mission to the orbiting outpost, as part of a $1.9 billion contract with NASA to deliver necessities to the astronauts living in space.

Supplies at the station are running low due to several failed delivery runs and botched rocket launches.

New hardware that will support dozens of NASA investigations and other science experiments from around the world is among the more than 7,000 pounds of cargo on the way to the International Space Station aboard Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft.

That’s better than the previous three days, when the weather foiled every effort to make the first USA shipment in months. “Be ready”, added Frank Culbertson, head of Orbital ATK’s Space Systems Group, in congratulatory remarks to the launch team. Cygnus will remain attached to the station for approximately 50 days before departing with roughly 5,050 pounds (2,300 kilograms) of disposable cargo for a safe, destructive reentry over the Pacific Ocean. 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.

The blast cost Orbital at least $200 million in lost equipment and supplies.

It will all burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere after the Cygnus is released from the station. Ken has reported first hand from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, NASA Wallops, NASA Michoud/Stennis/Langley and on over 40 launches including 8 shuttle launches.

Orbital ATK is one of two private space companies NASA hired to service the space station. “It’s important to have a regular cadence of resupply flights, and we are looking forward to regular resupply to use the station as intended”, said Kirk Shireman, NASA’s programme manager of the ISS.

The two US launch accidents, plus a failed Russian cargo run in April, have left the station’s storage bins a bit empty.