Powered by Pivdenmash engines, an Antares rocket blasted off from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on October 2.

Powered by Pivdenmash engines, an Antares rocket blasted off from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on October 2. Three days later, the Cygnus resupply spacecraft docked at the International Space Station. NASA reports the 3,500 kg cargo includes a $23 million experimental space toilet and experimental equipment for removing ammonia from urine, leaving drinking water and creating energy. Volodymyr Yelchenko, Ukraine’s ambassador to the US, attended the launch and wrote later: “The Antares Stage 1 Core Structure was developed by Pivdenne SDO and manufactured by Pivdenmash in cooperation with such Ukrainian enterprises as Hartron-ARKOS (Kharkiv), Kyivprylad (Kyiv), Hartron-Yukom (Zaporizhia), CHeZaRa, Rapid (Chernihiv), and others.”