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SCIENCEThursday 10 December 2015

Christmas delivery: 1st US space station shipment in months

In this frame grab from video shown on NASA TV, the Cygnus supply ship approaches the robot this week, “I knew those style white shirts, black
arm of the International Space Station, in preparation for capture, early Wednesday, Dec. 9, hours playing video games slacks and skinny black ties
2015, delivering Christmas presents and much-needed groceries for the resident astronauts. would come in handy!” in honor of the Mercury
The capture occurred as astronaut for whom the
(NASA TV via AP) the spacecraft soared 250 capsule had been named,
miles above the Arabian Deke Slayton, a commer-
MARCIA DUNN ing Christmas presents and used the space station’s sea, skirting the coast of cial space pioneer before
AP Aerospace Writer much-needed groceries big robot arm to grab the Oman. Three hours later, his death in 1993.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. for the resident astronauts. capsule and its 3 ½ tons of the capsule was bolted The previous Cygnus also
(AP) — The International “There’s much rejoicing on cargo. The operation went into place. The door was to bore Slayton’s name, but
Space Station accept- the ground,” Mission Con- smoothly, thanks to all the remain shut until Thursday, ended up being destroyed
ed its first U.S. shipment trol radioed. practice Lindgren put in. though, given the crew’s seconds after liftoff in Oc-
in more than half a year NASA astronaut Kjell Lind- He operated the crane busy schedule. tober 2014. Orbital chris-
early Wednesday, receiv- gren (CHELL LEND-grin) via joy sticks, joking earlier The supply ship, dubbed tened this capsule the S.S.
Cygnus after the swan Deke Slayton II.
constellation, rocketed NASA is paying billions
into orbit Sunday from of dollars to Orbital and
Cape Canaveral, Florida. SpaceX to stock the space
NASA’s commercial ship- station. The pantry got a
per, Orbital ATK, used an- little too empty for NASA’s
other company’s rocket taste over the past year;
for the launch. Orbital sup- besides the two lost com-
ply runs had been on hold mercial shipments, Russia
ever since a launch explo- also endured a failed sup-
sion last year. The other U.S. ply run. The Russian Space
supplier, SpaceX, mean- Agency didn’t take long,
while, has not made a de- however, to resume flights;
livery since April because another shipment is sched-
of a launch accident. uled for just before Christ-
Orbital flight controllers, mas.
based at company head- Orbital’s next flight is in
quarters in Dulles, Virginia, March, again using anoth-
applauded and shook er company’s Atlas V rock-
hands once the Cygnus et. SpaceX, meanwhile,
made contact with the aims to resume shipments
space station Wednesday in January with its own Fal-
morning. They wore retro- con rocket.
This was Lindgren’s last big
NIH tries again at studying environment, child health job at the space station.
He’s scheduled to return to
LAURAN NEERGAARD mine whether a child ends The project announced than starting from scratch Earth on Friday, along with
AP Medical Writer up healthy or not,” said Dr. this week is a next step af- to recruit participants, re- a Russian and Japanese,
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Francis Collins, the NIH’s di- ter the failure of a massive searchers with child health following a five-month mis-
U.S. National Institutes of rector. earlier attempt to study studies already under sion.
Health is launching a new Called ECHO, for Envi- how the environment and way can apply to expand Two of the six-man crew —
project to help unravel ronmental influences on genetics interact in child them, using new technolo- space station commander
how early-in-life environ- Child Health Outcomes, health. The National Chil- gies to measure even small Scott Kelly and Mikhail Ko-
mental exposures may af- the seven-year project will dren’s Study was supposed environmental exposures rnienko — are three-quar-
fect autism, obesity and examine such interactions to eventually track 100,000 that would be analyzed at ters of the way through a
certain other childhood in pregnancy and early children from womb to NIH-designated labs. For one-year mission. They’re
disorders. It’s a second childhood, focusing on adulthood. A year ago, example, an asthma study especially eager to see
shot at tackling those im- four areas of special pub- Collins canceled that re- might use wearable moni- the Cygnus contents, since
portant questions, after a lic health concern: asthma search, after years of plan- tors to uncover what trig- they won’t be back on the
more ambitious research and other airway disorders; ning and pilot-testing only gers a child’s asthma at- planet until March.
attempt failed. obesity; neurodevelop- to have scientific advisers tacks, or compare air pol- “It’s great to see a new ve-
The goal is “really to un- mental disorders, including conclude it was too un- lution sensors with inhaler hicle up here,” Kelly said in
derstand that interplay autism and learning dis- wieldy to work. use. a news interview. “We’ve
between the environment ability; and birth defects The ECHO project takes a NIH said it plans to spend had some difficulties, so
and genetics and behav- and other infant health different, and more stream- $160 million on ECHO re- getting Cygnus safely on
ior that play out to deter- outcomes. lined, approach. Rather search this year.q board has been a great
treat for us.”q