Capsule loaded with meats, reddish seeds, cheese sent to International Space Station

On October 2, a space cargo ship was launched into the orbit loaded with an agglomeration of edibles such as meats, reddish seeds for plantation, cheeses for feasting in a space food delivery to NASA’s International Space Station (ISS). Loaded aboard the 'Cygnus' S.S. Kalpana Chawla spacecraft named after the Indian origin astronaut, the first woman in space, the food delivery capsule launch to ISS comes days after NASA installed its new space toilet worth $23 million with a competent Universal Waste Management System (UWMS).

The capsule took off from the Virginia coast US for the ISS, which was visible to the watchers in Carolinas to New England. NASA’s deputy space station program manager Kenny Todd said in an AP  report, “It [space cargo ship] was a spectacular launch, that created artificial dawn for a few minutes”, adding, the sight was “gorgeous”. The shipment, launched by Northrop Grumman that roughly weighed about 8,000-pound (3,600-kilogram)  was expected to reach the ISS by October 5, he informed. 

The space cargo was fitted with a virtual reality 360-degree camera, that would be used by the astronauts for space shoots of the outdoor walk and cinematic view of the delivery. With SpaceX’s second manned mission launch scheduled for October 31, the ISS populace is expected to swell, and with that, the fresh food supply, the sources to the Associated Press agency confirmed in the report. 

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“It is actually a transition from basic plant biology in space to a production system” that could benefit moon and Mars explorers,” the experiment lead and a biology professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Karl Hasenstein was quoted saying in the AP’s report. 

Genoa salami, tomatoes, oranges on ISS

Meanwhile, some of the delicacies listed by the astronauts for delivery up in the space include prosciutto, Genoa salami, smoked Gouda and provolone, brie, cherry tomatoes, oranges, pecans, and chocolate-covered cranberries. Not just that, the reddish seeds delivered are aimed to initiate the space plantation to rear personal harvest onboard the ISS. Peppers and tomatoes can also be included in the future as an addition to the astronaut’s diet down few years, he revealed. This would be made possible as NASA has Russian-built commodes fitted in the ISS. 

[Northrup Grumman's Antares rocket lifts off the launch pad at the NASA Wallops test flight facility in Wallops Island, Va. The rocket will deliver supplies to the International Space Station.]

[Astronaut Kate Rubins, center, and support personnel review the Universal Waste Management System, a low-gravity space toilet, that made food capsule launch possible for delivery to the International Space Station.]

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(Images Credit: AP)