Posted on 07/12/2014 1:46:57 PM PDT by BenLurkin
Following further weather delays this week Orbital Sciences Corp. commercial Antares rocket is at last set to soar to space at lunchtime Sunday, July 13, from a beachside launch pad in Virginia carrying a private Cygnus cargo freighter loaded with a diverse array of science experiments including a flock of nanosatellites and deployers, student science experiments and small cubesat prototypes that may one day fly to Mars.
The privately developed Antares rocket is on a critical cargo resupply mission named Orb-2 bound for the International Space Station (ISS) and now targeting liftoff at 12:52 p.m. on July 13 from Launch Pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at NASA Wallops Island on Virginias Eastern shore.
...
The pressurized Cygnus cargo freighter will deliver 1,657 kg (3653 lbs) of cargo to the ISS Expedition 40 crew including over 700 pounds (300 kg) of science experiments and instruments, crew supplies, food, water, computer equipment, spacewalk tools and student research experiments.
...
15 student experiments on the Charlie Brown mission are aboard and hosted by the Student Spaceflight Experiment Program, an initiative of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE) and NanoRacks.
...
They will investigate plant, lettuce, raddish [sic] and mold growth and seed germination in zero-G, penecilium [sic] growth, corrosion inhibitors, oxidation in space and microencapsulation experiments.
...
NASA will broadcast the Antares launch live on NASA TV starting at 12 Noon http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv
(Excerpt) Read more at universetoday.com ...
The “rocket” is “loaded with science”?
Well that’s a scientific statement.
:sigh:
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.