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A private cargo spacecraft will lift off from Virginia on Tuesday (September 29), carrying tons of fresh supplies to the International Space Station, including science experiments, Estée Lauder skincare, and a new space toilet.
The mission, known as Cygnus NG-14, will deliver 7,624 pounds (3,458 kilograms) of payload on the 14th flight of Northrop Grumman’s robotic Cygnus spacecraft and the 13th mission of the refueling ship to the International Space Station. Cygnus will launch on an Antares rocket on September 29 at 10:27 pm EDT (0227 am GMT on September 30) from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
Northrop Grumman has named the Cygnus SS Kalpana Chawla spacecraft in honor of astronaut Kalpana Chawla, who was one of seven astronauts who died in the 2003 Columbia shuttle tragedy.
You can watch the launch live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV, directly at NASA TV starting at 10 pm EDT (0200 GMT on September 30) or at NASA Wallops’ Ustream site beginning at approximately 5:30 pm EDT.
Related: See amazing launch photos of Antares and Cygnus NG-13!
“Humanity faces many challenges today, and I am proud to be part of a community that accepts challenges on a regular basis that turns problems into solutions and opportunities into reality,” David Brady, Assistant Program Scientist for the International Space Station Program The NASA. Johnson Space Center in Houston said about the launch during a pre-launch teleconference on Thursday (September 24).
The almost 8,000 pounds. of the cargo transported into space by Cygnus will include supplies for the crew like food along with science experiments and even a recently upgraded space toilet, officially called the Universal Waste Management System. The cargo will be delivered to support the Expedition 64 crew aboard the space station, although very soon the SpaceX Crew 1 astronauts will be able to make use of part of this cargo, as they are scheduled to launch on October 23.
The $ 23 million space toilet, which was created with input from astronauts, will be among the important experiments and equipment shipped with this launch. This toilet is 65% smaller and 40% lighter than the toilet currently on the space station, NASA officials said.
It was designed to optimize “toilet use for the female crew, and NASA spent a lot of time working with the crew members … to improve toilet use,” said Melissa McKinley, project manager for the Logistics Reduction Project. NASA Advanced Exploration Systems, during the same teleconference.
The cargo will also include a radish growing experiment known as Plant Habitat-02; Onco Selectors research, which will focus on cancer therapies; a new experiment with a water recovery system; a specialized camera that will capture what it’s like to be aboard the space station in 360-degree virtual reality; Estée Lauder Skin Care Serum Bottles; and much more.
Email Chelsea Gohd at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
