CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - A U.S. shipment of much-needed groceries and other astronaut supplies is rocketing toward the International Space Station for the first time in months.
The unmanned Atlas V (five) rocket blasted off Sunday, carrying 7,400 pounds of space station cargo, following three days of weather delays.
If the Orbital ATK cargo ship arrives at the space station Wednesday as planned, it will represent the first U.S. delivery in nearly eight months.
Orbital ATK used another company's rocket to make this shipment. That's because its own rocket, the Antares, remains grounded following a 2014 launch explosion. NASA's other commercial supplier, SpaceX, is also stuck on Earth. Its rocket failed in June.
Orbital's Cygnus cargo carrier is full of food, clothes, toiletries, spacewalking gear, science experiments and Christmas presents.
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