International Space Station Gets Its First Shipment in Months

(CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.) — The International Space Station accepted its first U.S. shipment in more than half a year early Wednesday, receiving Christmas presents and much-needed groceries for the resident astronauts. “There’s much rejoicing on the ground,” Mission Control radioed. NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren used the space station’s big robot arm to grab the capsule and its 3 ½ tons of cargo. The operation went smoothly, thanks to all the practice Lindgren put in. He operated the crane via joy sticks, joking earlier this week, “I knew those hours playing video games would come in handy!” The capture occurred as the spacecraft soared 250 miles above the Arabian sea, skirting the coast of Oman. The supply ship, dubbed Cygnus after the swan constellation, rocketed into orbit Sunday from Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA‘s commercial shipper, Orbital ATK, used another company’s rocket for the launch. Orbital supply runs had been on hold ever since a launch explosion last year. The other U.S. supplier, SpaceX, meanwhile, has not made a delivery since April because of a launch accident. Orbital flight controllers, based at company headquarters in Dulles, Virginia, applauded and shook hands once the Cygnus made contact with the space station. They wore retro-style white shirts, black slacks and skinny black ties in honor of the Mercury astronaut for whom the capsule had been named, Deke Slayton, a commercial space pioneer bef...
Source: TIME.com: Top Science and Health Stories - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized A Year In Space delivery international space station iss Kjell Lindgren scott kelly Source Type: news