Cygnus headed to space station with food, clothing, and other supplies

After a series of delays, including a 24-hour slip prompted by a solar flare,Orbital Science's robotic Cygnus spacecraft is en route to the International Space Station.

The commercial spaceflight company Orbital Sciences Corp. launched a robotic spacecraft from Virginia's Eastern Shore Thursday (Jan. 9) on a milestone flight: the company's first official cargo delivery to the International Space Station.

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An Orbital-built Cygnus spacecraft launched into space atop the company's Antares rocket from a seaside pad at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va. Liftoff occurred at 1:07 p.m. EST (1807 GMT) after a series of delays, including a 24-hour slip due to ahuge solar flare on Tuesday.

The Cygnus spacecraft is hauling about 2,780 lbs. (1,260 kilograms) of fresh food, clothing, scientific equipment and other gear for astronauts on the International Space Station. The mission, called Orb-1, is the first of at least eight cargo missions Orbital will fly for NASA under a $1.9 billion contract. [See more launch photos of Orbital's 1st Cygnus cargo mission]

"We are really looking forward to thisfirst Orbital cargo mission," Dan Hartman, NASA's deputy space station program manager, said in a prelaunch briefing this week.

The Cygnus spacecraft is due to arrive at the space station early Sunday (Jan. 12), where it will be captured by astronauts using a robotic arm and attached to a station docking port.

Orbital'sCygnus spacecraftare bus-size cylindrical vehicles designed to haul payloads of up to 4,400 lbs. (2,000 kg) to the International Space Station. They include an Orbital-built service module for power and propulsion and a 17-foot-long (5 meters) pressurized compartment built by Italy's Thales Alenia Space.

In April 2013, Orbital launched itsfirst Antares rocket test flightfrom Pad-0A at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. A second demonstration flight in September launched the first Cygnus vehicle to the space station. Pad-0A at Wallops is managed by Virginia's commercial Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.

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Cygnus headed to space station with food, clothing, and other supplies