Northrop Grumman’s “S.S. John Young” Antares rocket successfully completed its mission to deliver 7,400 pounds of cargo and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) over the weekend on Nov. 17, in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of the ISS.
The Antares rocket lifted off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Wallops Island, Virginia, at 4 a.m. Eastern Time Saturday morning. The launch was scheduled for Nov. 15 but was delayed two days due to weather conditions.
The Cygnus safely reached orbit and finally caught up to the ISS today. Once it had reached within close range of the space station, ISS crew members maneuvered it to the berthing port to install it at 7:31 a.m. this morning to collect the cargo contents.
The Antares rocket was named for John Young, the longest-serving NASA astronaut, and was “a fitting tribute to his efforts to enable future astronauts to live and work there to advance space exploration,” said Frank Culbertson, president of Northrup Grumman’s space systems group.
Watch the video of Saturday’s launch below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1dgCA0AWok