Solar array deployment is complete for Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Cygnus spacecraft, now traveling 17,500 mph in Earth's orbit to rendezvous with the International Space Station on Sunday, Sept. 22, for a demonstration resupply mission. The spacecraft will deliver about 1,300 pounds (589 kilograms) of cargo, including food and clothing, to the space station's Expedition 37 crew, who will grapple and attach the capsule using the orbiting laboratory's robotic arm.
At the time of the 10:58 a.m. EDT launch of Cygnus, the space station was flying about 261 miles above the southern Indian Ocean.
A post-launch news briefing will begin at approximately 12:30 p.m. at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility Visitors Center. NASA's Johnson Space Center will operate a phone bridge for the post-launch briefings. To participate in the briefing by phone, reporters must call the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 at least 15 minutes before the start of the briefing. The briefing will be carried live on NASA TV and the agency's website at www.nasa.gov/ntv.
NASA will take questions from Twitter and Google+ during the briefing using the hashtag #AskNASA.
For more information about the Orbital demonstration resupply mission, visit:http://www.nasa.gov/orbital and http://www.nasa.gov/station.
