posted 10-24-2018 06:15 PM               

Space station-bound cargo ship named for moonwalker John Young

NASA's first astronaut to fly six times into space (seven, if you count his launch off the moon) and command four different types of spacecraft will add one more vehicle to his credit, if only in name.

John Young, who walked on the moon on Apollo 16 and led the maiden flight of the space shuttle program, has been chosen as the posthumous namesake for Northrop Grumman's next Cygnus cargo spacecraft to resupply the International Space Station. Young died in January at the age of 87.

"We are thrilled to announce that the Cygnus spacecraft for our tenth cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station is named in honor of John Young, accomplished naval officer, test pilot and NASA astronaut," read a statement posted on Wednesday (Oct. 24) by Northrop Grumman on Twitter.

posted 11-15-2018 07:05 AM               

Northrop Grumman Set to Launch 10th Cargo Delivery Mission to the International Space Station for NASA

Northrop Grumman Corporation announced it is set to launch the company's Antares rocket carrying its Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station for NASA. Pending completion of final vehicle testing and acceptable local weather conditions, the launch will take place November 16 with lift-off scheduled for 4:23 a.m. EST from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0A on Wallops Island, Virginia, at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility.

The mission, designated NG-10, will be Northrop Grumman's 10th cargo delivery mission for NASA. The Antares medium-class rocket will carry a cargo load of approximately 7,400 pounds (3,350 kilograms) of vital supplies and scientific equipment to support the crew aboard the International Space Station. The Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled to rendezvous and berth with the station on November 18, 2018.

Northrop Grumman names each Cygnus spacecraft in honor of astronauts and individuals who contributed to the United States' commercial space program. The NG-10 mission honors John Young, NASA's longest serving astronaut, and a human spaceflight pioneer who helped to lay the foundation for future astronauts to live and work aboard the International Space Station today. Young began his career with the first crewed Gemini mission, Gemini 3, walked on the moon during the Apollo 16 mission, and piloted the maiden flight of the space shuttle, among many other accomplishments. John Young's bravery and record of NASA "firsts" pushed the boundaries of human space exploration, making him an ideal honoree for the NG-10 mission.

Cygnus will be grappled at the International Space Station at approximately 4:35 a.m. EST on November 18, 2018. The spacecraft will remain attached to the space station for approximately two months before departing with up to 7,400 pounds (approximately 3,350 kilograms) of disposal cargo. The removal of these objects is a crucial step in keeping the space station operational.

On this mission, the "S.S. John Young" is carrying a student-designed experiment sponsored by Northrop Grumman in a partnership with Higher Orbits, a Virginia-based non-profit, and its Go For Launch! program. A team of high school students from the Go For Launch! event in Dulles, Virginia, captured first place for an innovative science experiment that focuses on the evaluation of self-healing materials in microgravity.

Once Cygnus is unberthed from the station, it will reposition to deploy three CubeSats via the NanoRacks External Cygnus Deployment Program from both above and below the space station. This specific NanoRacks' satellite deployment operation marks the first dual altitude deployment for Cygnus, demonstrating the spacecraft's capability beyond cargo delivery and removal.

The CubeSat known as MYSat-1, is the first satellite developed by Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. MYSat-1 was developed as part of Khalifa's Space Systems and Technology Concentration, a joint program established in 2015 in collaboration with UAE-based satellite operator Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) and Northrop Grumman. Engineers from both companies helped develop the initial curriculum for the Concentration, and provided guidance and mentorship during the design phase of the MYSat-1 satellite.

The next phase of the mission features an inaugural flight for the Slingshot CubeSat Deployer System which further demonstrates Cygnus' capabilities beyond its core cargo delivery function. Cygnus is prepared to support Slingshot, a flexible platform that can fly hosted payloads and CubeSats after installation onto the Cygnus spacecraft by NASA astronauts. Upon completion of its secondary missions, Cygnus will perform a safe, destructive reentry into Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.

posted 11-15-2018 09:40 PM               

Northrop Grumman's NG-10 mission is scheduled to launch aboard the company's Antares rocket from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility no earlier than November 17. The 5-minute launch window will open at 4:01 a.m. EST/9:01 a.m. UTC.

posted 11-17-2018 06:07 AM               

NASA, Northrop Grumman Launch Space Station, National Lab Cargo

Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft is on its way to the International Space Station with about 7,400 pounds of cargo after launching at 4:01 a.m. EST Saturday (Nov. 17) from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore.

The spacecraft launched on an Antares 230 Rocket from the Virginia Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport's Pad 0A at Wallops on the company's 10th cargo delivery flight, and is scheduled to arrive at the orbital laboratory Monday, Nov. 19. Expedition 57 astronauts Serena Auñón-Chancellor of NASA and Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency) will use the space station's robotic arm to grapple Cygnus about 5:20 a.m. Installation coverage will begin at 4 a.m. on NASA Television and the agency's website.

This Commercial Resupply Services contract mission will support dozens of new and existing investigations as Expeditions 57 and 58 contribute to some 250 science and research studies. Highlights from the new experiments include a demonstration of 3D printing and recycling technology and simulating the creation of celestial bodies from stardust.

Recycling and Fabrication in Space

The Refabricator is the first-ever 3D printer and recycler integrated into one user-friendly machine. Once it's installed in the space station, it will demonstrate recycling of waste plastic and previously 3D printed parts already on-board into high-quality filament (i.e. 3D printer 'ink'). This recycled filament will then be fed into the printer to make new tools and parts on-demand in space. This technology could enable closed-loop, sustainable fabrication, repair and recycling on long-duration space missions, and greatly reduce the need to continually launch large supplies of new material and parts for repairs and maintenance.

The demonstration, which NASA's Space Technology Mission and Human Exploration and Operations Directorates co-sponsored, is considered a key enabling technology for in-space manufacturing. NASA awarded a Small Business Innovation Research contract valued to Tethers Unlimited Inc. to build the recycling system.

Formation of the Early Solar System

The Experimental Chondrule Formation at the International Space Station (EXCISS) investigation will explore how planets, moons and other objects in space formed by simulating the high-energy, low-gravity conditions that were present during formation of the early solar system. Scientists plan to zap a specially formulated dust with an electrical current, and then study the shape and texture of the resulting pellets.

Understanding Parkinson's Disease

The Crystallization of LRRK2 Under Microgravity Conditions-2 (PCG-16) investigation grows large crystals of an important protein, leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2), in microgravity for analysis back on Earth. This protein is implicated in development of Parkinson's disease, and improving our knowledge of its structure may help scientists better understand the pathology of the disease and develop therapies to treat it. LRRK2 crystals grown in gravity are too small and too compact to study, making microgravity an essential part of this research. This investigation is sponsored by the U.S. National Laboratory on the space station, which Congress designated in 2005 to maximize its use for improving quality of life on Earth.

The Cygnus spacecraft will remain at the space station until February before its destructive reentry into Earth's atmosphere, disposing of several thousand pounds of trash. This is the seventh flight of an enhanced Cygnus spacecraft, and the fourth using Northrop Grumman's upgraded Antares 230 launch vehicle featuring new RD-181 engines that provide increased performance and flexibility.

The spacecraft for this mission is named in honor of astronaut John Young. Young was selected for NASA's second astronaut class and flew during the Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle programs. He walked on the Moon during Apollo 16 in 1972 and commanded the first space shuttle mission in 1981. Young passed away in January.

posted 11-19-2018 09:58 AM               

'S.S. John Young' delivers approximately 7,400 pounds of cargo to the station

Northrop Grumman Corporation today (Nov. 18) announced that the "S.S. John Young" Cygnus spacecraft successfully completed its rendezvous and berthing maneuvers with the International Space Station (ISS) earlier this morning. The mission marks the company's 10th successful berthing with the orbiting laboratory.

Cygnus launched aboard a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket on Nov. 17, 2018 from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0A on Wallops Island, Virginia. As the spacecraft moved closer to the space station over the following few days, Cygnus executed a series of thruster burns to raise its orbit. Once the spacecraft was in close range, crew members on board the space station grappled the spacecraft with the station's robotic arm at 5:28 a.m. EST. Cygnus was then guided to its berthing port on the nadir side of the station's Unity module and officially installed on to the space station at 7:31 a.m. EST.

"With the 20th anniversary of the International Space Station tomorrow, we stand with NASA as a proud mission partner in support of the ISS as a premier research facility in space," said Frank Culbertson, president, space systems group, Northrop Grumman. "Our dedication of Cygnus in honor of NASA astronaut John Young is a fitting tribute to his efforts to enable future astronauts to live and work there to advance space exploration."

Cygnus arrived at the space station with nearly 7,400 pounds (approximately 3,350 kilograms) of cargo, supplies and scientific experiments. The crew is now scheduled to open Cygnus' hatch and make initial ingress into the cargo module to begin unloading the pressurized cargo. Cygnus will remain docked at the station for approximately two months before departing on secondary missions.

Once Cygnus is unberthed from the station, it will reposition to deploy three CubeSats via the NanoRacks External Cygnus Deployment Program from both above and below the space station. This specific satellite deployment operation marks the first dual altitude deployment for Cygnus, demonstrating the spacecraft's capability beyond cargo delivery and removal.

The CubeSat known as MYSat-1 is among NanoRacks' customers to be deployed and marks the first satellite developed by Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). MYSat-1 was developed as part of Khalifa's Space Systems and Technology Concentration, a joint program established in 2015 in collaboration with UAE-based satellite operator Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) and Northrop Grumman. Engineers from both companies helped develop the initial curriculum for the concentration, and provided guidance and mentorship during the design phase of the MYSat-1 satellite.

Cygnus is also prepared to execute on the inaugural flight for the Slingshot CubeSat Deployer System which is another example of the cargo vehicle's ability to meet multiple customer needs. Slingshot is a flexible platform that can fly hosted payloads and CubeSats. NASA astronauts will install the system on Cygnus after the primary mission is completed. Upon completion of its secondary missions, Cygnus will perform a safe, destructive reentry into Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.

posted 02-08-2019 10:48 AM               

Astronauts Release U.S. Spacecraft from Station

Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft was released from the Canadarm2 at 11:16 a.m. EST [on Friday, Feb. 8] and has departed the International Space Station. After an extended mission to deploy several CubeSats in multiple orbits, Cygnus is scheduled to be deorbited on Feb. 25 to enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up harmlessly over the Pacific Ocean.

Expedition 58 Flight Engineers Anne McClain of NASA and David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency used the station's robotic arm to release the craft, dubbed the "SS John Young," after ground controllers unbolted the cargo vehicle from the Earth-facing port of the Unity module earlier this morning.

This was the seventh flight of an enhanced Cygnus spacecraft, and the fourth using Northrop Grumman's upgraded Antares 230 launch vehicle featuring new RD-181 engines that provide increased performance and flexibility.