Flight facility gives sneak peek into upcoming launch mission

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. – Next month the flight facility at Wallops Island is scheduled to launch a spacecraft to the International Space Station, and Wednesday the facility gave 47ABC a sneak peek at what will be delivered.

Come November, the spacecraft, named after former astronaut John Young , will launch from Wallops Island with some critical items needed by astronauts.

“Food, water, cargo, experiments.  All the things they need to do their work on the space station,” said Kurt Eberly, program manager for Antares rocket program.

And because of a launch failure for a different resupply mission in Russia last week, NASA may need more supplies delivered from Wallops next month.

“When one of those vehicles doesn’t make it there, now they have to re-plan all of the vehicle traffic, and they have to re-plan all the cargo that’s coming and going,” said Rick Mastracchio, the Director of Cygnus Operations.

Aside from bringing the basic necessities that astronauts need, this spacecraft will also bring experimental items that will help with human exploration in space.

“Re fabricator is looking at can we take things that are already on the space station, whether that be plastic bags, utensils, whatever, melt them down and print a useful part,” said Katie Boggs, the systems and technology demonstration manager as NASA HQ.

A re-fabrictor is a tool capable of melting down recyclable items and be used by a 3D printer.  Officials say it will play a critical role in enabling future long-duration space missions to the Moon, Mars, or even further.

“Having the ability to print parts when things break down will be an enabler for us, because we do not have that frequent resupply.  So it’s very important for deep space exploration,” said Boggs.

Another exciting item on its way to the space station are stalls for a new toilet system.  It’s a small piece to a new system that will play an integral part in creating a healthier environment for astronauts.

“It’s he first step towards getting that new toilet on there and testing it, and then as you can imagine toilets are very important to astronauts.  It’s important for their health actually, it’s not just that we have to get rid of human waste, but that’s actually part of how you keep a human being healthy,” said Boggs.

The five minute window for launch from Wallops Island is November 15 at 4:49 in the morning.  The event is open to the public, and if you want to find more information on the scheduled launch, you can visit their website.

We’re told officials are proud to name the spacecraft after Young, who passed away in January. Officials say he is NASA’s longest serving astronaut, and a pioneer in the field of human spaceflight, who positioned future astronauts to live and work at the International Space Station.