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NASA Launches Spacecraft Named After John Glenn To Resupply ISS

The launch was originally scheduled for March but was delayed due to a leak.
Posted at 11:48 AM, Apr 18, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-18 11:48:01-04

The crew aboard the International Space Station will be getting a visitor pretty soon in the form of an automated cargo ship.

NASA launched the Cygnus spacecraft Tuesday. Aboard was over 7,000 pounds of science stuff, supplies and hardware. It should reach the ISS in about four days.

NASA

For the science nerd, it's kind of a mother lode. There's a new plant habitat that might one day produce plants for deep-space missions. There are also experiments to improve chemotherapy and 38 mini-satellites called CubeSats that will also be used for research.

This Cygnus spacecraft has been dubbed the S.S. John Glenn, after the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth. Glenn died in December.

This launch was supposed to happen in March, but a leak caused the flight to be grounded.