CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Fresh supplies are rocketing toward the International Space Station.
The cargo shipped out late Tuesday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, beneath the light of a nearly full moon. The unmanned Atlas V (five) rocket provided late-night sparkle as it headed north and paralleled the East Coast.
Orbital ATK's Cygnus capsule holds nearly 8,000 pounds of food, equipment and scientific research for NASA, including a commercial-quality 3-D printer anyone can rent. There are also robotic grippers modeled after the sticky hairs on geckos' feet, and a fire experiment that will remain on Cygnus.
Researchers will ignite a large-scale blaze in a box, but not until Cygnus departs the space station in May, full of trash for a destructive re-entry. First, the capsule needs to get to the station. It's due there Saturday.
