Uganda’s first satellite has been launched into International Aerospace by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The U.S. space agency said on Monday that NASA commercial cargo provider Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket with Cygnus cargo spacecraft aboard lifted off from Pad-0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore at 5:32:42 a.m. EST this morning.
Aboard the rocket is BIRDS-5, a constellation of CubeSats: PEARLAFRICASAT-1, the first satellite developed by Uganda; ZIMSAT-1, Zimbabwe’s first satellite; and TAKA from Japan.
This is Northrop Grumman’s 18th contracted resupply mission to the International Space Station.
We have liftoff! 🚀
The S.S. Sally Ride spacecraft, named after the first American woman in space, has launched from @NASA_Wallops at 5:32am ET (1032 UTC). #CRS18 pic.twitter.com/jNWpne9aPJ
— NASA (@NASA) November 7, 2022
Cygnus is in orbit and on its way to the International Space Station with more than 8,200 pounds of cargo.
This Cygnus, dubbed the S.S. Sally Ride (named after the first American woman in space), is scheduled to arrive at the space station on Wednesday, Nov. 9.
