posted 12-06-2023 10:35 PM               

Northrop Grumman cargo spacecraft named for shuttle-era astronaut who died of plane crash injuries

An astronaut who died from injuries sustained in a plane crash before she could launch to the International Space Station (ISS) is being memorialized with the naming of Northrop Grumman's first cargo spacecraft to fly on a SpaceX rocket.

The S.S. Patricia "Patty" Hilliard Robertson is targeted to lift off no earlier than Jan. 29, 2024, atop a Falcon 9 launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. After a two-day rendezvous, the Cygnus supply ship will be captured by the space station's robotic arm and berthed to the Earth-facing port on the Unity node for the Expedition 70 crew to unload.

posted 01-24-2024 05:47 PM               

NG-20 cargo mission ready for launch

NASA, Northrop Grumman, and SpaceX are targeting 12:29 p.m. EST on Monday, Jan. 29, for the next launch to deliver science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station for the agency and its partners. This launch is the 20th Northrop Grumman commercial resupply services mission to the orbital laboratory for the agency.

Filled with more than 8,200 pounds of supplies, the Cygnus cargo spacecraft, carried on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. It will arrive at the space station Wednesday, Jan. 31.

NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli will capture Cygnus using the station's robotic arm, and NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara will act as backup. After capture, the spacecraft will be installed on the Unity module's Earth-facing port.

Highlights of space station research facilitated by delivery aboard this Cygnus are:

• the first surgical robot on the space station
  
• an orbit re-entry platform that collects thermal protection systems data
  
• a 3D cartilage cell culture that maintains healthy cartilage in a lower gravity
  
• the MSTIC facility, an autonomous semiconductor manufacturing platform
  
• and a metal 3D printer that will test the capability for printing small metal parts

The Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the space station until May when it will depart the orbiting laboratory at which point it will harmlessly burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. This spacecraft is named the S.S. Patricia "Patty" Hilliard Robertson after the former NASA astronaut.

posted 01-30-2024 12:15 PM               

Cygnus lifts off atop SpaceX rocket to deliver station cargo

A fresh supply of more than 8,200 pounds of scientific investigations and cargo is on its way to the International Space Station on a Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply spacecraft after launching on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 12:07 p.m. EST on Tuesday (Jan. 30) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

About 15 minutes after launch, Cygnus reached its preliminary orbit and is expected to complete its solar arrays deployment about two hours after launch.

Cygnus is scheduled to arrive at the space station around 4:15 a.m. EST on Thursday (Feb. 1).

NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli will capture Cygnus using the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm, and NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara will be acting as a backup. After capture, the spacecraft will be installed on the Unity module’s Earth-facing port.

This is Northrop Grumman’s 20th contracted resupply mission for NASA.

posted 02-01-2024 09:38 AM               

Cygnus installed on station; cargo ops begin

The "S.S. Patricia 'Patty' Hilliard Robertson" was installed on the International Space Station on Thursday (Feb. 1) by flight controllers in Mission Control Houston. The NG-20 Cygnus, carrying over 8,200 pounds of cargo and science experiments, was berthed to the station's Unity module at 7:14 a.m. EST (1214 UTC).

Earlier at 4:59 a.m. EST, NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara, with NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli acting as backup, captured the Cygnus using the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm.

Capture of the spacecraft was slightly delayed as flight control teams on the ground reconfigured a redundant radio communications system on Cygnus, which links up with the space station's C2V2 (Common Communications for Visiting Vehicles) system. C2V2 is the primary communications system between the space station and visiting spacecraft.