The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) informed that Cygnus spacecraft installation on the International Space Station (ISS) is now complete. The live stream of the same was also available.
The US-based space agency NASA informed that the Cygnus spacecraft, built by Northrop Grumman, was launched atop an Antares rocket at 12:40 pm EST on Saturday (February 19) from its Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
Around 4:44 am, NASA astronauts Raja Chari and Kayla Barron captured Cygnus, which carried over 3.7 tonnes of research, hardware and science experiments to the ISS.
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NASA mentioned the key areas of space station research which is facilitated by this mission as a study will pe performed that will examine the effects of a drug on breast and prostate cancer cells.
One of the most highlighted aspects of the mission is to test hydroponic and aeroponic techniques for plant growth. It will allow scientists to observe root growth through video and still images.
Apart from that, an investigation from Colgate-Palmolive will also be done to understand the acceleration of skin ageing in microgravity.
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The mission also includes a new combustion facility, testing of new hydrogen sensors for the space station’s oxygen generation system.
Astronauts will also analyse whether the demonstration of a lithium-ion secondary battery is capable of safe, stable operation under extreme temperatures and in a vacuum environment.
NASA stated that Cygnus will remain at the space station until May before it deploys CubeSats.
After that, it will dispose of several thousand pounds of trash during its re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, which will result in its destruction.