CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Northrop Grumman is making another supply run to the International Space Station.
The speedy, special delivery includes pizza for the seven residents on board.
The company's new N-16 Cygnus cargo ship rocketed away from Virginia's eastern shore Tuesday.
It should reach the space station Thursday.
Liftoff of @NorthropGrumman's #Cygnus space freighter at 6:01pm ET today! It will reach the station on Thursday for a capture at 6:10am with the #Canadarm2 robotic arm operated by @Astro_Megan. More... https://t.co/pl9k5pIJA6 pic.twitter.com/5a9rFRIry0
— International Space Station (@Space_Station) August 10, 2021
The shipment includes fresh apples, tomatoes and kiwi, along with a pizza kit and cheese smorgasbord for the seven station astronauts.
The company has a tradition of naming each Cygnus spacecraft after someone who has "made great contributions to human spaceflight."
The aircraft that launched Tuesday is named after Ellison Onizuka, the first Asian American astronaut.
Ellison Onizuka racked up more than 1,700 flight hours as a @usairforce test pilot, and logged 74 hours in space with 48 orbits of the Earth as a @NASA astronaut. Learn more about our NG-16 #Cygnus namesake: https://t.co/YFjXpxbgVp pic.twitter.com/54y6aklnTx
— Northrop Grumman (@northropgrumman) August 9, 2021
This is Northrop Grumman's 16th supply run for NASA and its biggest one yet.
