Orbital ATK Launches Cygnus Spacecraft To Supply Cargo To ISS

(RTTNews) - Orbital ATK, Inc. (OA), an aerospace and defense technologies company, Wednesday said it successfully launched its Cygnus spacecraft aboard a United Launch Alliance or ULA Atlas V launch vehicle with approximately 7,900 pounds of cargo and small satellites that will be deployed directly from the spacecraft.

The launch marks the beginning of the company's fifth operational cargo resupply mission for NASA, and the first Cygnus to conduct scientific experiments onboard the spacecraft.

Cygnus will deliver vital equipment, supplies and experiments to astronauts aboard the International Space Station as part of its Commercial Resupply Services-1 contract with NASA.

Cygnus will be grappled on Saturday, March 26. The spacecraft will remain attached to the ISS for approximately two months before departing with roughly 4,400 pounds of disposable cargo for a safe, destructive reentry into Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.

Under the CRS contract with NASA, Orbital ATK will deliver approximately 59,000 pounds of cargo to the ISS over 10 missions through 2018.