Private Cygnus space supply rocket blasts off in stunning Moon-lit launch

A commercial Cygnus cargo ship has launched into space, streaking into the Florida night sky on a mission to deliver a record-breaking load of NASA experiments and gear to the International Space Station. The Orbital ATK-built Cygnus blasted off atop an Atlas V rocket at 11:05 p.m. EDT (0305 GMT) in a smooth lift-off under the light of a nearly-full Moon from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station here. The cargo ship’s solar arrays deployed and unfurled as planned about 2 hours after launch, keeping Cygnus on track for its scheduled Saturday arrival at the orbiting lab. American astronaut and space station commander Tim Kopra will man the Canadarm2 robotic arm to retrieve the craft, assisted by British astronaut Tim Peake.

For those of you that were here and saw it, I think you’d agree that it was an absolutely spectacular launch.

Kenneth Todd, operations integration manager for the International Space Station Program

This flight is the second for Orbital ATK’s enhanced Cygnus craft on an Atlas V rocket provided by United Launch Alliance (ULA). The cargo ship is also carrying even more cargo — more than 3.5 tons — than Orbital ATK’s previous record-breaking flight in December, company representatives said. The current Cygnus spacecraft is filled to the brim with science gear, a haul that includes nearly 7,500 lbs. (3,400 kilograms) of vital crew supplies, hardware and research tools bound for the station, NASA officials said, buoyed by the lifting power of the Atlas V rocket. It’s also carrying some gear that isn’t destined to stay on the station, including a large-scale fire experiment and a cloud of five microsatellites to set free after the craft is released from the station in May.

They kind of become our lifeblood on the space station. So as we get into this regular cadence of flights, it really does allow us to do more.

U.S. East

Cygnus