posted 01-22-2020 04:00 PM               

Northrop Grumman names Cygnus for 1st African American astronaut

The first African American to be selected as an astronaut is being remembered with the naming of a space station cargo capsule set to launch during Black History Month.

The 13th Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft has been christened for Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr., who in 1967 was chosen for the U.S. Air Force's Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program. The "S.S. Robert H. Lawrence" is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station atop a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on Feb. 9.

posted 02-08-2020 05:41 PM               

New Research Launching to Station Aboard Northrop Grumman's 13th Resupply Mission

Investigations studying tissue culturing, bone loss and phage therapy will be launching, along with more scientific experiments and supplies, to the International Space Station on a Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft. The vehicle launches no earlier than Feb. 9 from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

This is the second mission under Northrop's Commercial Resupply Services-2 contract with NASA. These resupply missions help NASA deliver critical research to the orbiting lab and increase its ability to conduct new investigations.

Here are details on some of the scientific investigations Northrop Grumman's 13th commercial resupply services mission (NG CRS-13) is delivering to the space station:

Better tissue and cell culturing in space

Mobile SpaceLab, a tissue and cell culturing facility, offers investigators a quick-turnaround platform to perform sophisticated microgravity biology experiments. Such experiments are critical for determining how microgravity affects human physiology and identifying ways to mitigate negative effects. The platform can work in multiple configurations, allowing investigators to tailor the facility to their needs.

Mobile SpaceLab launches and returns on resupply spacecraft. It performs experiments autonomously with ground monitoring. The crew is responsible for moving the payload from the resupply vehicle to a designated ISS EXPRESS Rack and back to a vehicle for return to ground. This process allows investigators to get their research in orbit quickly and gather sophisticated data using the automated capabilities. Experiments can run for up to one month.

A close-up view

The Mochii investigation provides an initial demonstration of a new miniature scanning electron microscope (SEM) with spectroscopy. Mochii will demonstrate real-time, on-site imaging and measurements of micro- and nanostructures aboard the space station. This capability could accelerate answers to many scientific inquiries and mission decisions and serve the public as a powerful and unique microgravity research platform.

The ability to identify small particles is needed for crewed flight and deep space exploration beyond low-Earth Orbit (LEO) since samples cannot be sent back to Earth. Rapid identification of these particles can help keep crews and vehicles safe.

Examining bone loss in microgravity

Crew members experience bone loss in orbit, stemming from the lack of gravity acting on their bones. OsteoOmics investigates the molecular mechanisms that dictate this bone loss by examining osteoblasts, cells in the body that form bone, and osteoclasts, which dissolve bone. A better understanding of these mechanisms could lead to more effective prevention of astronaut bone loss during space missions.

Understanding the cellular mechanisms of bone loss associated with microgravity also helps researchers better understand bone loss associated with a wide range of disorders. This insight could help identify better preventative care and therapeutic treatments for people who experience bone loss due to diseases such as osteopenia and osteoporosis or from prolonged bed rest.

Fighting bacteria with phages

Bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that specifically invade and destroy bacteria. Discovered in 1915, phages have been used to fight infectious diseases, most notably in Eastern Europe.

With increasing types of bacteria developing resistance to antibiotics, phage therapy offers a possible alternative to traditional antibiotics. In addition, phages can eliminate harmful bacteria without causing large-scale damage to the body's beneficial bacterial population or microbiome. Scientists also can evolve phages in the laboratory to remain potent even if phage-resistant bacteria develop.

Phage Evolution examines the effects of microgravity and radiation exposure on phage and bacterial host interactions, including phage specificity for a bacterial host and host resistance to specific phages. A better understanding of the effects of microgravity and cosmic radiation on bacteriophages and hosts could result in significant developments for phage technology, ultimately helping protect the health of astronauts on future missions.

(Do not) light my fire

The Spacecraft Fire Experiment-IV (Saffire-IV) investigation examines fire development and growth in different materials and environmental conditions, fire detection and monitoring, and post-fire cleanup capabilities. It is part of a series of fire investigations conducted in the Cygnus resupply vehicle after its departure from space station, eliminating exposure of humans or occupied spacecraft to fire danger.

Saffire-IV contributes to fire safety efforts in similar environments on Earth, from submarines to mines, and helps improve general understanding and modeling of fire phenomena.

posted 02-08-2020 05:42 PM               

On Sunday, Feb. 9 at 5:39 p.m. EST [2239 GMT], Northrop Grumman Corporation's Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft are scheduled to launch from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Update: New launch time: 5:44:29 p.m. EST (2244:29 GMT).

posted 02-09-2020 04:43 PM               

We have aborted today's launch attempt of our NG-13 mission due to off-nominal data from the ground support equipment.

posted 02-09-2020 07:45 PM               

Northrop Grumman scrubbed tonight's [Feb. 9] Antares launch after off-nominal readings from a ground support sensor. Northrop Grumman and NASA have set the next launch attempt to no earlier than February 13 at 4:05 p.m. EST [2105 GMT], due to an unfavorable weather forecast over the next two days, and time required to address the ground support issue. Teams will refresh 24-hour late load cargo the day before. The Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft remain healthy.

posted 02-11-2020 12:17 PM               

Northrop Grumman and NASA have set the next launch attempt for [Friday] Feb. 14 at 3:43 p.m. EST [2043 GMT] to take advantage of an improved weather forecast, to provide time for testing the replaced ground sensors and to allow for refresh of critical late load science. The weather forecast calls for 80% favorable weather conditions.

posted 02-14-2020 01:19 PM               

We are standing down from today's launch attempt of Northrop Grumman's CRS-13 mission. Liftoff has been rescheduled for Saturday, Feb. 15 at 3:21 p.m. EST.

posted 02-15-2020 09:37 AM               

The next launch attempt will be Saturday, Feb. 15 at 3:21 p.m. EST. The weather forecast calls for 95% favorable weather conditions. NASA TV coverage of the launch will begin at 2:45 p.m. EST.

posted 02-15-2020 02:41 PM               

NASA Science, Cargo Heads to Space Station on Northrop Grumman Mission

A Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply spacecraft is on its way to the International Space Station with more than 8,000 pounds of science investigations and cargo after launching at 3:21 p.m. EST Saturday [Feb. 15] from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

The spacecraft launched on an Antares 230+ rocket from the Virginia Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport's Pad 0A at Wallops and is scheduled to arrive at the space station at about 4:05 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18.

Expedition 62 astronaut Andrew Morgan of NASA will use the space station's robotic arm to capture Cygnus, and NASA's Jessica Meir will monitor telemetry during rendezvous, capture, and installation on the Unity module’s Earth-facing port. The spacecraft is scheduled to stay at the space station until May.

This delivery, Northrop Grumman's 13th cargo flight to the space station, the second under its Commercial Resupply Services 2 contract with NASA and designated NG-13, will support dozens of new and existing investigations.

posted 02-18-2020 08:10 AM               

SS Robert H Lawrence attached to space station

Expedition 62 flight engineers Drew Morgan and Jessica Meir on Tuesday (Feb. 18) used the International Space Station's Canadarm2 robotic arm to grapple Northrop Grumman's NG-13 Cygnus, the S.S. Robert H. Lawrence.

The Cygnus was captured at 4:05 a.m. EST (0905 GMT).

The cargo vehicle was then attached to the Earth-facing port of the Unity module at 6:16 a.m. EST (1116 GMT) while the space station was flying over south of New Zealand.

posted 05-11-2020 11:18 AM               

SS Robert Lawrence departs space station

Northrop Grumman's NG-13 Cygnus spacecraft, the "S.S. Robert Lawrence," departed the International Space Station on Monday (May 11) at 12:09 p.m. EDT (1609 GMT), three months after arriving at the orbiting lab to deliver 7,500 pounds of supplies and scientific experiments to the orbiting laboratory.

With Expedition 63 commander Chris Cassidy monitoring from aboard the station, ground controllers in Houston sent commands to the Canadarm2 robotic arm to release the cargo spacecraft after it was remotely unbolted from the Earth-facing port of the Unity module and maneuvered into its release position.

Within 24 hours of its release, the Cygnus will begin its secondary mission – hosting the Spacecraft Fire Safety Experiment–IV (Saffire-IV), which provides an environment to safely study fire in microgravity. It also will deploy a series of cubesats before Northrop Grumman flight controllers in Dulles, Virginia initiate the Cygnus' deorbit to burn up in Earth's atmosphere on May 29 or May 30.