Yes, you read right, an ice cream truck really launched into space, although in the form of the resupply craft intended for the international space station. It was launched from the NASA facility on Wallops Island in Virginia. One of the Astronauts on board the station made a tweet which explains the situation of ice cream and pizza being launched into space.
“Pizza and ice cream on the way! Eagerly awaiting the arrival of @OrbitalATK “SS Gene Cernan” #Cygnus cargo vehicle. Packed full of #science and supplies!”
Based on the tweet astronaut Joseph M. Acaba posted, the Cygnus cargo vehicle is the one carrying ice cream and pizza, as mentioned in the tweet. He also added that the vehicle was, aside from food supplies, equipped with scientific equipment.
Orbital ATK is the Dulles based company with a contract to provide supplies for the space station. The company tweeted on Sunday that the Cygnus supply craft was “in great shape” and also that “everything is performing” how it should.
The S.S. Gene Cernan #Cygnus spacecraft is in great shape, and everything is performing nominally #OA8
On Sunday, Orbital added that the launch of its AntaresTM rocket, which carries a CygnusTM spacecraft was a success. The rocket was launched at 7:19 a.m. Sunday from the Wallops facility in Virginia. Nine minutes later, Orbital said that the vehicle “was successfully deployed into orbit.” The vehicle carried around 7,400 pounds of cargo for the crew of the space station, which consists of six members. According to the plans, the vehicle will arrive at the station on Tuesday at about 4:50 a.m. Orbital said in its tweet.
The company added that the Cygnus vehicle, after being attached to the stations for about three weeks, will department carrying more than two tons of disposable cargo. It is important to note that under one of the contracts between Orbital and Nasa, the company is to deliver around 66,000 pounds of cargo to the space station.
The Wallops facility is located on the Atlantic Ocean, on Virginia’s eastern shore, where the launching was successfully performed. It is important to note that the original launch of the ice cream into space was originally canceled when a small airplane appeared near the facility. Most likely, no one in the plane knew that they were blocking ice cream and pizza being launched into space.
What do you think about the ice cream and pizza being launched into space?
