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U.S. cargo ship departs space station, prepares for fire experiment

Xinhua, November 22, 2016 Adjust font size:

A cargo ship operated by U.S. space firm Orbital ATK departed from the International Space Station on Monday, setting the stage for an on-board experiment that will intentionally ignite a fire inside the spacecraft to learn more about how flames spread in space.

The Cygnus resupply craft left the space station at 8:22 a.m. EST (1322 GMT), completing a 29-day stay at the orbiting laboratory. It was packed with 1,120 kilograms of items for disposal.

According to the U.S. space agency NASA, engineers back on Earth will intentionally ignite nine different materials inside the spacecraft five hours after its departure for the so-called Saffire experiments.

NASA has planned three such space fire experiments, deemed critical to the safety of astronauts who live and work in space. Monday's fire experiment was the second of its planned three Saffire experiments.

"Orbital ATK engineers will remotely conduct this experiment from the ground once Cygnus departs the International Space Station," the company said in a statement.

"The experiment will intentionally ignite nine different experimental material samples to help investigators better understand flammability of these materials in a microgravity environment. All data obtained from this experiment will be downloaded via telemetry."

The materials involved include "flame retardant fabrics used for astronaut clothing, station Plexiglas window samples with edge variations and structures used for storage containers and silicone composites," NASA said.

Each sample is two by 11 inches (five by 28 centimeters), the size sample NASA uses to screen materials on Earth before they are used on a spacecraft, the space agency said.

Besides the fire experiment, Cygnus also will release four small satellites called CubeSats from an external deployer on Friday, sending them to join a remote sensing satellite constellation that provides global ship tracking and weather monitoring.

The spacecraft will remain in orbit until Nov. 27, when it will reenter Earth's atmosphere and burn up over the Pacific Ocean.

Cygnus was launched on Oct. 17 on an Antares rocket from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, for Orbital ATK's sixth NASA-contracted commercial resupply mission.

The company's seventh contracted resupply mission is targeted for spring 2017 on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Endit