US-Iran war CJP protest in Delhi US-Saudi nuclear deal Wildfires in Europe El Nino

Northrop Grumman successfully launches Valentine's Day special spacecraft filled with chocolate, cheese to ISS

The ISS is home to American astronauts Jessica Meir and Andrew Morgan and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka.

Tech2 News Staff|Feb 17, 2020, 16:07:44 IST

Aerospace company Northrop Grumman launched its Cygnus spacecraft for the international space station on its Antares rocket, on Sunday, 16 February after two failed attempts. This is part of their Commercial Resupply Services 2 contract with NASA and the 13 delivery run to the International Space Station.The uncrewed spacecraft was launched from Virginia Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad 0A at Wallops Facility at 1.51 am IST or 3.21 pm EST making it a perfect launch sequence.[caption id="attachment_8051161" align="alignnone" width="1280"]

The Antares spacecraft standing ready for its launch. Image credit: Twitter[/caption]

The cargo

The spacecraft was carrying 3,400 kilograms worth of supplies, science equipment and other gears that are necessary for the Expedition 62 astronauts. The capsule also some special requests from the astronauts owing to it reaching around the time of Valentine’s Day. They asked for chocolates and three kinds of gummy candy: Skittles, Hot Tamales, and Mike and Ike’s. Wedges of Wisconsin cheddar, Parmesan and Fontina hard cheeses, fresh fruit and vegetables are also part of the delivery.Periodic supply runs by Russia, Japan, and NASA’s two private shippers — Northrop Grumman and SpaceX — bring equipment and experiments, along with family care packages, as well as fresh food to offset the run-of-the-mill station grub.

The astronauts

The space station is currently home to American astronauts Jessica Meir and Andrew Morgan and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka. Morgan has been up there since July and the two others since September; they’ll remain on board until April. Three other astronauts returned to Earth earlier this month including female astronaut Christina Koch that completed 328 days in space - the longest time a woman has stayed in space.

The delays

The Northrop Grumman aerospace company had faced some issues the previous two times it had tried to launch. The first time, on 10 February, the company had come within a few minutes of the launch but it had to be called off due to trouble with the ground equipment. The launch was then rescheduled to take place no earlier than 13 February. On 15 February, the launch was cancelled as well due to high winds that exceeded the safety limits. The company finally saw success on 16 February and the launch went off without a hitch.

The science equipment

There are around 20 different experiments that are part of the supply run says Space.com. These experiments include studies into loss of bone density in microgravity, determining how space affects human physiology and identifying ways to mitigate its negative effects, studying the effects of microgravity and radiation exposure on phage, viruses that destroy bacteria without harming human cells, and bacterial host interactions and a lot more.

Careless Whispers: Scientists discover that plants can 'talk' to each other using smells

Japanese scientists have recorded a video that shows plants, in certain conditions, communicate with each other using mists that carry smells. The discovery, reveals that plants release a fine mist of airborne compounds, to warn nearby plants of potential dangers

Life on Mars? European Space Agency’s Orbiter discovers ice water deposits at equator

European Space Agency's Mars Express Orbiter has identified massive ice and ice water deposits beneath the surface of Mars. The Mars Express orbiter was also the first to confirmed the presence of ice on Mars in 2004

Microsoft briefly overtakes Apple as the most valuable company, Apple back on top again

At its peak during the session, Microsoft's value reached $2.903 trillion, with a 2% surge. As of writing this article, Apple closed at $2.89 trillion, whereas Microsoft closed at $2.86 trillion

Even NASA is facing a tough time, starts layoffs following major budget cuts

NASA is facing some massive budget cuts, because of which, it has been forced to postpone some upcoming missions. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been hit hard by recent federal budget cuts, resulting in the layoff of 100 contractors last week

ISRO, NASA's NISAR satellite to get ready by Jan-end, will monitor Earth's snow-covered regions

The NISAR satellite which has been developed jointly ISRO and NASA, should be ready for launch by the end of January 2024. The collaboration between NASA and ISRO on NISAR is the first time the two agencies have cooperated on hardware development for an Earth-observing mission

Up Next