A space station supply ship has blasted into orbit from Virginia on the 59th anniversary of John Glenn's historic flightCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A space station supply ship named after the Black NASA mathematician featured in the movie “Hidden Figures” rocketed into orbit Saturday, the 59th anniversary of John Glenn's historic launch. Northrop Grumman's Cygnus capsule — dubbed the S.S. Katherine Johnson — should reach the International Space Station on Monday following its launch from Virginia's eastern shore. He noted that the space station flew over Virginia just 10 minutes ahead of Saturday's launch. The capsule also holds 120,000 tiny roundworms for a muscle experiment, as well as off-the-shelf computer equipment to increase data processing speed at the space station. It is Northrop Grumman’s 15th station supply run for NASA.

Source: ABC News February 20, 2021 17:51 UTC