The Northrop Grumman is launching a resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS). However, this includes a special space pizza delivery for the seven people aboard the ISS.
Here’s what else will join the space pizza delivery
The Cygnus spacecraft will be on the ISS till November when the space station will dispose of several thousand pounds of trash through a destructive re-entry back into the planet’s atmosphere. This resupply flight will establish several new and existing investigations. The shipments weigh over 8,000 pounds and include fresh tomatoes, kiwis, and apples. Additionally, it also includes a pizza kit with a cheese smorgasbord for the seven astronauts on the ISS.
More on the Cygnus spacecraft
The CRS-16 Cygnus spacecraft in named to honor Ellison Onizuka, the first Asian American to go to space. The spacecraft also contains a mounting bracket for new solar wings. They will be helping in launching the orbiting lab in 2022. The solar wings use “a material simulating moon dust and dirt that will be used to create items from the space station’s 3D printer, slime mold for a French educational experiment called Blob, and an infrared-detecting device meant as a prototype for future tracking satellites,” it states.
How will the spacecraft reach the ISS?
Once the spacecraft reaches the ISS, NASA astronaut Megan McArthur will use Canadarm2, the ISS’ robotic arm to capture the Cygnus. Additionally, Thomas Pesquet, the astronaut from the European Space Agency (ESA) will monitor the rendezvous, capture and, installation of the module. In a few weeks, the space station will receive another cargo run from SpaceX, NASA’s other shipper.