The Cygnus spacecraft, carrying approximately 3,700kg of science equipment, supplies and hardware, is currently docking with the International Space Station. The un-crewed Cygnus spacecraft launched at 2.59pm GMT (9.59am ET) on Saturday on an Antares rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility.
NASA’s Expedition 61 astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch will then use the orbiting space laboratory’s robotic arm to capture Cygnus.
Their colleague Andrew Morgan is in charge of monitoring telemetry.
After Cygnus’ capture, ground controllers will command the station’s arm to rotate and install it on the bottom of the station’s Unity module for a two-month stay.
Live coverage of the installation coverage will begin on NASA TV at 11.30am GMT (6.30am ET).
READ MORE: NASA unveils stunning photo of ISS transiting Sun
The shipment included sports car parts, an experimental oven for baking biscuits and a vest to protect against radiation.
Astronauts aboard the iconic orbiting space laboratory will test the oven by baking chocolate chip cookies and try out the new safety vest to gauge its comfort.
Both experiments are considered to vital future Moon and Mars missions.
Other newly arriving equipment will be used in a series of NASA spacewalks later in the month to fix a particle physics detector.
Attached to ISS since 2011, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer requires new cooling pumps to continue its search for elusive dark matter.
Lamborghini has also sent samples of carbon fibre used in its sports cars for six months of direct space exposure.
This is because researchers are considering the materials for medical implants.
Like space, the insides of a person’s body are an extreme environment, explained Houston Methodist’s Professor Alessandro Grattoni, who is collaborating with Lamborghini on the experiment.
As a nanomedicine specialist, Professor Grattoni is continuously searching for new materials for devices that are inserted beneath the skin.
These minuscule implants release therapeutic drugs to treat cancer, hormone deficiencies and other illnesses.
