Since August 29 the ship Ocean Atlas has been at port in Maracaibo, Venezuela, where it docked to unload a cargo of equipment.

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The Space Launch System, or SLS, will be designed to carry the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, as well as important cargo, equipment and science experiments to Earth's orbit and destinations beyond.

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The civilian cargo aircraft that crashed was reportedly hauling military equipment including heavy vehicles, in addition to other cargo.

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The ships can travel 2, 000 miles in less than 48 hours, twice the speed of the Pentagon's regular cargo ships, and carry enough equipment to support about 5, 000 soldiers.

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Doing so would encourage passengers to check their baggage so screwdrivers, knives and sports equipment can ride where they belong: in cargo holds inside checked and TSA-screened bags.

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The cargo manifest for the trip includes 674 pounds of food, clothing and miscellaneous supplies, 46 pounds of supplies for use in science experiments, 271 pounds of cargo bags for use in future flights and 22 pounds of computer equipment.

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The Progress M-12M that went down last week was to deliver more than 3.8 tons of cargo to the space station crew, including food supplies, medical equipment, personal hygiene items and scientific equipment needed for experiments, according to Roscosmos and space officials.

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So far, the U.S. Air Force has flown at least seven C-17 cargo missions into Mali, carrying 200 passengers, mainly French troops, and 168 tons of equipment, according to Maj.

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Wind blade equipment today, probably constitutes roughly 20% of ocean-borne multi-purpose heavy lift cargo today.

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But those armies lack equipment, and their few hundred soldiers in Mali remain far behind the front, waiting for cargo planes to bring them bullets and cars.

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