A commercial spacecraft bearing scientific experiments and cargo for NASA is on its way to the International Space Station following a successful Sunday launch in Florida.
The resupply run is the 21st commercial services mission that the Virginia aeronautics and defense company Northrop Grumman has undertaken on behalf of the U.S. space agency. After inclement weather delayed the mission’s initial planned launch on Saturday, the company’s Cygnus spacecraft was able to reach orbit the next morning on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Cygnus then managed to reach a safe altitude Sunday afternoon and deploy its two solar arrays needed to generate energy from the overheard sun – despite missing its first burn to orient it on a correct trajectory. Northrop Grumman engineers are working on a new burn and trajectory plan so that the spacecraft can still arrive on time at the space station, NASA said Sunday in a news release.
Here’s how to rewatch the launch and what to know about the resupply mission.
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Watch livestream of Northrop Grumman launch
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft hitched a ride aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for a Sunday launch from Florida’s Canaveral Space Force Station, located just south of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
Launched at 11:02 a.m. EDT, the spacecraft is ultimately bound for the International Space Station’s orbital laboratory.
The launch marked the second time SpaceX provided launch…
