Northrop Grumman�s latest space station delivery includes pizza for seven.

The company�s Cygnus cargo ship rocketed away from Virginia�s eastern shore Tuesday. It should reach the International Space Station on Thursday.

The 8,200-pound (3,700-kilogram) shipment includes fresh apples, tomatoes and kiwi, along with a pizza kit and cheese smorgasbord for the seven station astronauts.

Also flying: a mounting bracket for new solar wings launching to the orbiting lab next year, a material simulating moon dust and dirt that will be used to create items from the space station�s 3D printer, slime mold for a French educational experiment called Blob and an infrared-detecting device meant as a prototype for future tracking satellites.

It is Northrop Grumman�s 16th supply run for NASA and its biggest load yet. The company�s Antares rocket hoisted the capsule from NASA�s Wallops Flight Facility.

�Aloha to the S.S. Ellison Onizuka,� Northrop Grumman said via Launch Control minutes before liftoff. The capsule was named for Hawaii�s Onizuka, the first Asian American in space who died in the 1986 Challenger launch disaster.

NASA�s other shipper, SpaceX, will follow with a cargo run in a few weeks.

The space station is currently home to three Americans, two Russians, one French and one Japanese.

(AP)