US Cygnus Cargo Spacecraft to Launch to ISS December 3

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — A Cygnus spacecraft with cargo for the International Space Station (ISS) will launch on December 3, NASA said in a press release Wednesday.

The unmanned Cygnus service module will be carried by a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launched from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, according to the press release.

The mission will be the first flight of an Orbital ATK Enhanced Cygnus service module, designed to carry a larger payload. The spacecraft is expected to deliver over 7,700 pounds of essential crew supplies, equipment and scientific experiments to the station, NASA said.

The Cygnus module will also carry a new life science facility for cell culture studies with bacteria and other micro-organisms, a microsatellite deployer and the first microsatellite to be deployed from the space station, according the space agency.

Orbital ATK has a contract with NASA to deliver cargo to the ISS. The company suspended deliveries in October 2014 after an Antares rocket intended to deliver over 2 tons of cargo to the ISS exploded six seconds after launch from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Orbital ATK previously reported that in 2016 at least three missions will be carried out under NASA contracts, two using the Antares rocket platform and one using an Atlas V.