NASA Highlights Science on Next Commercial Resupply Mission to International Space Station

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Sep 30, 2016, 01:51 ET

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Oct 5, to discuss select science investigations launching on the next Orbital ATK commercial resupply flight to the International Space Station.

Orbital ATK is targeting no earlier than Oct. 9-13 for the launch of its Cygnus spacecraft on an Antares rocket from pad 0A at Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia. A more specific date will be identified after completion of final operational milestones and technical reviews.

Participants in Wednesday's briefing will be:

Dan Dietrich, co-investigator for Cool Flames at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, will discuss an investigation into a phenomenon where some types of fuels initially burn very hot and then appear to go out, but actually continue to burn at a much lower temperature with no visible flames.
David Urban, principal investigator for Saffire-II at Glenn, will provide an overview of the second in a series of experiments to ignite a large-scale fire inside an empty Cygnus resupply vehicle, after it leaves the space station, to improve understanding of fire growth in microgravity and safeguarding future space missions.
Scott Green, principal investigator for the Controlled Dynamics locker at Controlled Dynamics Inc., will explain how the facility can enable a new class of research experiments by minimizing fluctuations and disturbances in the microgravity environment that can occur onboard a moving spacecraft.
Mary Murphy, senior internal payloads manager for the Black Box at NanoRacks, will discuss the platform that can provide advanced science capabilities and is specially designed for near-launch payload turnover of autonomous payloads.

To participate in the teleconference, media must contact Karen Northon at 202-358-1540 or [email protected] by 10 a.m. Wednesday, for dial-in information.

Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live online at:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasalive

The Cygnus spacecraft will carry crew supplies, scientific research and hardware to the orbiting laboratory to support the Expedition 49 and 50 crews for the sixth contracted mission by Orbital ATK under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract.

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