Posted on 08/06/2024 6:03:50 AM PDT by Salman
SpaceX successfully launched a resupply mission for the International Space Station on Sunday after it was postponed Saturday because of unfavorable weather. The space exploration company used a Falcon 9 rocket to launch the Cygnus spacecraft made by Northrop Grumman -- best known as a defense contractor.
Northrop Grumman changed its launch vehicle for Cygnus missions from its own Antares 230+ rocket to SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket after the war in Ukraine ended engine and booster production for the Antares program.
Onboard are tests of water recovery technology and a process to produce stem cells in microgravity, studies of the effects of spaceflight on microorganism DNA and liver tissue growth, and live science demonstrations for students, NASA said in a statement.
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(Excerpt) Read more at spacedaily.com ...
“Unmanned cargo vehicle”
Carrying survival supplies to the stranded astronauts? 🤔
Couple of parachutes.
Are they all stranded, or just the two that arrived via the leaky capsule?
Space-X (Elon Musk) has accomplished such amazing feats. Things that NASA never even thought about.
Returning space crafts boosters from launch and landing them safely for reuse.
The low orbit satellite rings for global communications.
And all of it, designed and directed by a small crew working for Elon Musk.
It reminds me of what Kelly Johnson accomplished at his “Skunk Works”. And they both did is without a bunch of lawyers and accountants making decisions for the owner.
Northrop Grumman- as woke as they come.
Can the stranded astronauts return in this unmanned cargo vessel if necessary, or would that need to be a specific rescue flight with a small crew manning it?
I’m not caught up on Starliner’s ills. If they haven’t diagnosed and corrected the problems by now, it may need to return unmanned.
I doubt they could come down in the cargo capsule as there may be missing features the astronauts need.
…Unless the Dragon capsule sent up is crew-rated and they simply took advantage of the launch to send supplies in it, too.
An S-10, 2wd Blazer 2.8 liter V-6 drive-train/chassis with a box on it.
Go get em boys.
Meanwhile in non fedgov land
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