SpaceX will launch a private robotic cargo craft toward the International Space Station (ISS) this morning (Aug. 3), and you can watch it live.
A Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus freighter from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida today at 11:29 a.m. EDT (1529 GMT). It’s unclear if Mother Nature will cooperate, however; the latest forecast pegged the odds of weather good enough to launch at 50%.
Today’s launch will kick off the NG-21 mission, so named because it will be the 21st Cygnus cargo flight to the ISS.
The Cygnus vehicle that’s flying on NG-21 is called the S.S. Richard “Dick” Scobee, after the NASA astronaut who commanded the ill-fated STS-51-L mission of the space shuttle Challenger. Scobee and his six crewmates died when Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff on Jan. 28, 1986.
The freighter is packed with nearly 8,200 pounds (3,720 kilograms) of supplies on NG-21, including a range of scientific gear. Among the experiments are Rotifer-B2, which will study the effects of spaceflight on DNA repair in the rotifer species Adineta vaga, and MVP Cell-07, which will examine how bioprinted or engineered liver tissue behaves in microgravity.
Two tiny cubesats are hitching a ride to the ISS on NG-21 as well, as part of NASA’s ELaNa (Educational Launch of Nanosatellites) program. The pair will deploy from the ISS after the Cygnus docks.
That docking is scheduled to occur Monday (Aug. 5) at around 3:55 a.m. EDT (0755 GMT). You’ll be able to watch it live here at Space.com; coverage is expected to begin at 2:30 a.m. EDT (0630 GMT).
The S.S. Richard “Dick” Scobee is expected to remain docked with the ISS until January 2025, when it will depart to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. Russia’s Progress freighter is similarly disposable; the third currently operational ISS cargo craft, SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, is reusable, landing safely in the ocean under parachutes at the end of its missions.
Source: https://www.space.com/spacex-cygnus-cargo-spacecraft-launch-ng-21
