NASA Wallops preps for resupply mission
NASA Wallops is again gearing up another launch, this time to resupply the International Space Station.
"This continues our mission on board the space station to prepare humans to be able to travel beyond the earth, moon, system and into the solar system and do research," says Sam Scimemi, the Director for the International Space Station.
NASA and Orbital ATK officials showed 47 ABC the Cygnus spacecraft that astronauts at the space station are relying on to keep them supplied. The spacecraft will be taking astronauts food, supplies, and experiments so they can continue their research.
"They're testing a lot of biological experiments on tissues exposed to radiation that we are going to need when astronauts travel to Mars or the moon, or beyond the magnetosphere that protects us from a lot of radiation," says Kurt Eberly, the Program Manager of the Antares Launch Vehicle Program
With 3 weeks left until the scheduled launch date, NASA and Orbital ATK have a series of tests to do before take off.
"We run our final system tests where we trick the rocket and the spacecraft into flying the sequence that we are going to run , so a lot of double checks an re-checking," says Eberly.
The checks are important because the folks at Antares know first hand what can happen even in close to perfect situations. Back in 2014, after being cleared for launch an Antares rocket exploded in mid-air just seconds after lift-off. An experience they've since learned from.
"It was a component failure, so we did an extension investigation into the root cause and we found that one of the parts on the main rocket engine was not manufactured properly. that was the cause. We basically switched to different rocket engines," says Eberly.
Also another key to having a successful launch is an up -to-date uontrol center.
On Tuesday, NASA Wallops unveiled their upgraded control center. One of their major changes are new surveillance cameras.
NASA officials say they important to monitor things prior to launch to ensure they have successful takeoffs.
"Using high definition and putting high definition cameras on the island and locations that allows us to see into the ocean really makes sure that we have a clear space before we launch. So I think we are more effective doing our job because of it," says Bob Jameson, from NASA Wallops.
