Media Accreditation Open for Next Commercial Space Station Cargo Mission

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Jan 29, 2016, 06:23 ET

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA has opened media accreditation for the next launch of a commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station. The launch of Orbital ATK's Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled for Thursday, March 10, during a 30-minute window that opens at approximately 3 a.m. EST.

Cygnus will launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida. The spacecraft will carry crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory to support the Expedition 47 and 48 crews.

Media prelaunch and launch activities will take place at CCAFS and NASA's nearby Kennedy Space Center. For media only, the deadline to apply for access to CCAFS is 5 p.m. Feb. 18 for U.S. citizens and Feb. 5 for non-citizens. The deadline to apply for media access to Kennedy is 5 p.m. on March 1 for U.S. citizens and Feb. 22 for non-citizens.

All media accreditation requests for Kennedy must be submitted online at:

https://media.ksc.nasa.gov

International media are required to upload a scanned copy of their visa and passport or green card when submitting their online accreditation request.

All media representatives must present two forms of unexpired legal, government identification to access Kennedy. One form must include a photo, such as a passport or driver's license. Questions about accreditation should be directed to Jennifer Horner at [email protected] or 321-867-6598.

For other questions or additional information, contact the Kennedy newsroom at 321-867-2468.

This launch is the fifth contracted mission by Orbital ATK under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract and will be followed later this year by an Orbital ATK resupply mission launching from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia.

Science payloads heading to the space station on this launch include:

the second generation of a portable onboard printer to demonstrate 3-D printing;
an instrument for first space-based observations of the chemical composition of meteors entering Earth's atmosphere; and
an experiment to ignite and study a large-scale fire inside an empty Cygnus resupply vehicle after it leaves the space station and before it re-enters Earth's atmosphere to improve understanding of fire growth in microgravity and safeguard future space missions.

The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology and human innovation that demonstrates new technologies and makes research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. The space station has been occupied continuously since November 2000. In that time, more than 200 people and a variety of international and commercial spacecraft have visited the orbiting laboratory. The space station remains the springboard to NASA's next great leap in exploration, including future missions to an asteroid and Mars.

For NASA TV schedule and video streaming information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

For launch countdown coverage, NASA's launch blog, and more information about the mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/orbitalatk

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SOURCE NASA