Launch of ISS Resupply Mission Aborted Written 2 October 2020

CBS News reports that the launch of a Northrop Grumman Antares “rocket carrying a Cygnus space station cargo ship was aborted less than three minutes before liftoff from Virginia’s Eastern Shore Thursday evening.” The Antares “abort was triggered on computer command at the T-minus two-minute 40-second mark, apparently due to trouble with ground equipment.” The “upgraded Cygnus is packed with high-priority science equipment, crew supplies and spare parts, sophisticated camera gear, and even some Estée Lauder face cream for a commercial photo shoot, along with the new Universal Waste Management System toilet.” The “zero-gravity toilet is 65% smaller and 40% lighter than the one currently in use in the U.S. segment of the space station.” While “saving weight and reducing the toilet’s footprint were major goals, ‘another big part of our project was optimizing the use of the toilet for the female crew,’ said Melissa McKinley, a NASA project manager.”
Full Story (CBS News)