NASA launches SS Kalpana Chawla Cargo Spacecraft

NASA launched a commercial spacecraft named after Indian Origin deceased NASA Astronaut “Kalpana Chawla”.
The spacecraft carried 4 tonnes of cargo including refined radishes for the International Space Station.
The spacecraft was built by a Virginia based company Northrop Grunman. It currently holds space station resupply contract with NASA. It is an aerospace and defence technology company. The company has named the space craft after Indian born astronaut Kalpana Chawla who died along with six other astronauts in 2003 Columbia Space Shuttle tragedy.
The spacecraft carried a new space toilet called the Universal Waste Management System. The 23 million USD commode is to be tested for future use in the International Space Station. It is 65% smaller and 40% lighter than the current toilet at the International Space Station. It also carried a radish-growing experiment to learn about survival and feasibility of growing plants in space.
The space craft has also carried cancer treatment technique requisites to test cancer drugs in micro gravity conditions.
Kalpana Chawla was the first India-born woman to enter space.