The Atlas V rocket and the S.S. Rick Husband spacecraft are rolled out to the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center. (credit: NASA)
Like Matt Damon in The Martian, NASA is getting ready to science the @$!# out of the International Space Station. Late on Tuesday night, pending last-minute weather or technical issues, a spacecraft named for the late space shuttle Columbia commander Rick Husband will launch from Kennedy Space Center. Liftoff of the science-laden spacecraft is set for 11:05pm EDT (3:05am GMT Wednesday).
The launch of the Orbital ATK spacecraft is NASA’s second resupply mission to the International Space Station after two critical supply ship failures: an Orbital launch in late 2014, and a SpaceX flight in June 2015. After NASA’s commercial fleet was grounded for half a year, the space agency is now trying to settle into a more regular resupply schedule. The first SpaceX resupply flight since its accident is scheduled for April 8.
A variety of scientific payloads highlight Tuesday’s launch. Among its 3.5-ton cargo of food, water and other supplies, the S.S. Rick Husband will ferry 777kg of scientific experiments into space, including an upgraded version of a 3D printer, gecko-like grippers for moving around in microgravity, the first component of an ambitious Spacecraft Fire Experiment, and an experiment to that will allow scientists to better understand the behavior of regolith on asteroids and other small bodies with near-zero gravity.
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