Space station supplies ship sending pizza delivery to International Space Station
American multinational aerospace company Northrop Grumman's latest space station delivery includes pizza for seven.
The company's Cygnus cargo ship rocketed away from Virginia’s eastern shore Tuesday.
It should reach the International Space Station on Thursday.
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Northrop Grummans Antares rocket lifts off the launch pad at the NASA Test Flight Facility Tuesday, August 10, 2021, in Wallops Island. The rocket carries a Cygnus space vessel that will deliver supplies to the International Space Station. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) AP Photo/Steven Helber
The 3,700 kilogram shipment includes fresh apples, tomatoes and kiwi, along with a pizza kit and cheese smorgasbord for the seven station astronauts.
Also flying: a mounting bracket for new solar wings launching to the orbiting lab next year, a material simulating moon dust and dirt that will be used to create items from the space station's 3D printer, slime mould for a French educational experiment called Blob and an infrared-detecting device meant as a prototype for future tracking satellites.
It is Northrop Grumman’s 16th supply run for NASA and its biggest load yet.
The company's Antares rocket hoisted the capsule from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility.
“Aloha to the S.S. Ellison Onizuka,” Northrop Grumman said via Launch Control, minutes before lift-off.
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There are currently seven astronauts on board the International Space Station from four nations. NASA via AP
The capsule was named for Hawaii’s Onizuka, the first Asian American in space who died in the 1986 Challenger launch disaster.
NASA's other shipper, SpaceX, will follow with a cargo run in a few weeks.
The space station is currently home to three Americans, two Russians, one French and one Japanese.
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