Space Station Live: October 7, 2015

NASA has ordered four additional launches to deliver cargo to the International Space Station in 2017 — three from SpaceX and one from Orbital ATK — to cover the research lab’s logistics needs until a new set of resupply contracts take effect.

This video from a camera on Atlantis’ flight deck shows what it’s like to launch into orbit aboard the space shuttle. The footage begins with the final countdown to blastoff and continues through the astronauts getting out of their seats to see the jettisoned fuel tank fall away. (Membership Required)

Space station astronaut Reid Wiseman, preparing to return to Earth this weekend after 165 days in orbit, said commercial spaceflight represents the “next breakthrough” in aerospace technology, and that he hopes Virgin Galactic can ultimately turn that dream into reality despite the fatal crash of the company’s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane.