The third time is the charm for the global aerospace and defense technology company Northrop Grumman, as they have successfully launched a supply ship off to the International Space Station.
After two cancellations due to weather conditions, Northrop Grumman successfully launched their Antares rocket from NASA Wallops to the International Space Station. The NG-10 rocket is the beast powering the trip for the Cygnus spacecraft, and the cargo is expected to arrive early Monday morning. It contains roughly 3.7 tons worth of supplies such as food containers and clothing and will be offloaded based on priority. The supply ship will also contain experiments for the staff of the ISS to keep themselves busy with.
The highlight of the cargo is something known as a “refabricator”. Tethers Unlimited was contracted by NASA to develop the cutting-edge device. This innovative piece of technology will allow those onboard the International Space Station to melt down and repurpose/reuse plastic. It sounds like something out of a ‘Fallout 4’ base builder’s dream, but the technology of the real world is really looking up. Not only will this device cut down the amount of plastic on the ISS, but it will also mean that future cargo ships won’t need to send as much plastic, making room for other supplies.
The launching of the Cygnus spacecraft comes a day after one of Russia’s spacecraft touched ground at the International Space Station. The Russian cargo ship, known as the Progress MS-10, was launched Friday and arrived Sunday afternoon. The spacecraft contained around 5,500 pounds of supplies.
It never ceases to amaze me what technology is capable of nowadays, and the progress that the good staff of the International Space Station makes is always something to look forward to.
Northrop Grumman is slated to make another supply drop in April 2019.
