A few hours ago Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft blasted off atop an Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), part of NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) on Wallops Island. After about nine minutes it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage went en route to its destination. This is its 14th official mission, called NG-14 or CRS NG-14, to transport supplies to the International Space Station for NASA.
This Cygnus spacecraft was named Kalpana Chawla (1962-2003) after the first astronaut of Indian origin, who participated in the space missions STS-87 and STS-107, both on the Space Shuttle Columbia and among the victims of its destruction. This Cygnus cargo spacecraft carries a total of almost 3,600 kg (7,800 lbs.) of cargo, including 850 kg (1,874 lbs.) of various types of supplies for the crew, 1,230 kg (2,712 lbs.) of hardware and the rest in equipment and various components. The cargo includes various CubeSat-class nanosatellites and experiments needed for some of the scientific research carried out on the International Space Station.
The cargo includes a new toilet for the International Space Station crew formally called the Universal Waste Management System (UWMS) which improves organic waste management. On the practical side, it makes it easier to have a larger crew on board and has potential applications for future missions in deep space as well. These are technologies that can also be applied on Earth in remote areas or in areas affected by disasters.
The Elucidating the Ammonia Electrochemical Oxidation Mechanism via Electrochemical Techniques at the ISS (Ammonia Electrooxidation) experiment will be used to test a process of ammonia oxidation in microgravity. This allows for nitrogen, water and energy to be obtained from ammonia, which can in turn be obtained from urine.
The Assessment of Nutritional Value and Growth Parameters of Space-grown Plants (Plant Habitat-02) is one of the experiments to study ways to grow plants in microgravity that can provide food for the crew.
The Leveraging Microgravity to Screen Onco-selective Messenger RNAs for Cancer Immunotherapy (Onco-Selectors) experiment is part of the medical research conducted on the International Space Station, in this case concerning anti-cancer drugs. Experimental drugs targeting cancer cells but not healthy cells in microgravity are considered good candidates from the point of view of safety and efficacy.
The Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled to reach the International Space Station on Monday to be captured by the Canadarm2 robotic arm around 9.20 AM UTC. If there are no problems, the day after the arrival of the Cygnus the crew will open the hatch and start unloading its cargo.
