posted 04-06-2023 02:25 PM               

Northrop Grumman names cargo craft for fallen Columbia astronaut Laurel Clark

A NASA astronaut whose first spaceflight was the ill-fated final mission of the space shuttle Columbia is being remembered with the naming a space station-bound cargo spacecraft.

Northrop Grumman on Thursday (April 6) announced that its NG-19 Cygnus resupply vehicle will honor the late Laurel Clark, "a woman whose career took her under the sea and to the stars."

posted 06-21-2023 01:06 PM               

NASA and Northrop Grumman are targeting liftoff of the company's Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft, named the S.S. Laurel Clark, no earlier than 8:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Aug. 1 (0030 GMT Aug. 2), from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad 0A at the agency's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Following launch, Cygnus will be grappled by the space station's Canadarm2 no earlier than Friday, Aug. 4, and berthed to the Unity module's Earth-facing port for cargo unloading by the Expedition 69 crew.

Highlights of space station research aboard this Cygnus are:

• The final iteration of a series of flammability experiments
  
• A new potable water dispenser that provides hot water and improved sanitization
  
• Neural cells that will be cultured into 3D cell models for gene therapy testing
  
• A probe that measures plasma contents of the upper atmosphere
  
• A memory card that contains creative works from students around the world

posted 08-01-2023 06:17 PM               

The mission's uncrewed Cygnus spacecraft (named S.S. Laurel Clark) is scheduled to blast off atop an Antares rocket on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, at 8:31 p.m. EST (0031 Aug. 2 UTC).

posted 08-01-2023 08:42 PM               

Science, Hardware Launch on NASA's Northrop Grumman Cargo Mission

A Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply spacecraft is on its way to the International Space Station with more than 8,200 pounds of NASA science investigations and cargo after launching at 8:31 p.m. EDT Tuesday (Aug. 1) from the agency's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Cygnus is scheduled for capture by the Canadarm2 robotic arm at 5:55 a.m. EDT on Friday, Aug. 4, which will be operated by NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg with assistance from NASA astronaut Frank Rubio.

Northrop Grumman's 19th cargo flight to the space station is the eighth under its Commercial Resupply Services 2 contract with NASA. The Cygnus spacecraft launched on the company's Antares 230+ rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport's Pad-0A on Wallops Island.

The resupply mission will support dozens of research experiments conducted during Expedition 69. Included among the investigations are:

• Testing gene therapy: Neuronix, sponsored by the International Space Station National Laboratory, demonstrates the formation of 3D neuron cell cultures in microgravity and tests a neuron-specific gene therapy.
  
• Experimenting with fire: The sixth Spacecraft Fire Experiments (Saffire-VI) is the last in a series to test flammability at different oxygen levels and to demonstrate fire detection and monitoring as well as post-fire cleanup capabilities. This experiment will take place after the spacecraft has departed the space station.
  
• Measuring atmospheric density: The Multi Needle Langmuir Probe, an investigation from ESA (European Space Agency), monitors plasma densities in the ionosphere – where Earth's atmosphere meets space.
  
• Better water for explorers: A water system launched in fall 2008 provides water for crew consumption and food preparation on the space station. A new system, Exploration PWD, uses advanced water sanitization and microbial growth reduction methods and dispenses hot water.
  
• High-flying art: For I-Space Essay, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) is sending a memory card that contains digital works created by students, such as pictures and poetry, to the space station.
  
• Robotic helper: A cube-shaped Astrobee robot is on its way back to the space station to help reduce the amount of time astronauts spend on routine tasks.

Hardware upgrades to improve outcomes for researchers

Cygnus also will deliver a condensation module and heat transfer system for the Flow Boiling and Condensation Experiment that will help researchers better understand heat distribution and flow. Such knowledge could be used to enhance mechanisms that protect astronauts from the extreme hot and cold temperatures of space.

The station's Cold Atom Lab, which makes use of the microgravity environment of space to study quantum phenomena in ways that aren't possible on Earth, will get an upgrade that will give scientists more data in a wider variety of experimental conditions.

These are just a sample of the hundreds of investigations conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory in the areas of biology and biotechnology, physical sciences, and Earth and space science. Such research benefits humanity and lays the groundwork for future human exploration through the agency's Artemis missions, which will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future expeditions to Mars.

Northrop Grumman named the Cygnus 'S.S. Laurel Clark' after late NASA astronaut and crew member of NASA's STS-107 mission aboard space shuttle Columbia, Laurel Clark.

The Cygnus spacecraft will remain at the space station until October before it departs and disposes of several thousand pounds of trash through its destructive re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.

posted 08-02-2023 09:00 AM               

Northrop Grumman's NG-19 Launch Marks 10 Years of International Space Station Cargo Resupply Missions

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has successfully launched its 19th resupply mission (NG-19) to the International Space Station (ISS) under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services-2 (CRS-2) contract aboard the company's Antares rocket. This launch commemorates ten years of Northrop Grumman Cygnus missions.

• NG-19 is carrying over 8,200 pounds of equipment, science experiments and supplies to the crew on the ISS.

• The Cygnus spacecraft has delivered roughly 130,000 pounds of equipment and supplies to the crews aboard the ISS over the past decade.

• After ISS separation, Cygnus will host NASA's Spacecraft Fire Safety Experiment (Saffire) to investigate how fires grow in microgravity. This will inform future human spaceflight design to ensure crew safety.

Steve Krein, vice president, civil and commercial space, Northrop Grumman: "Our proven, adaptable Cygnus spacecraft has been essential to support the critical work of resupplying the ISS. Since our first mission in 2013, we have continued to improve its capabilities while increasing cargo mass capacity and supporting secondary mission capability such as reboosting the orbit of the ISS."

Details on Cygnus

NG-19 launched from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia.

The company also manufactures the spacecraft structures, propellant tanks, UltraFlex solar arrays, and loop heat pipe radiators for thermal control – all essential components for successful mission launches.

Northrop Grumman names each Cygnus spacecraft in honor of an individual who has made great contributions to human spaceflight. For the NG-19 mission, Cygnus is named for Laurel Clark, NASA astronaut, medical doctor, United States Navy captain and Space Shuttle mission specialist. She was selected for NASA Astronaut Group 16 in 1996 and flew aboard Space Shuttle Mission STS-107, spending 16 days in space. This year marked the 20th anniversary of the Columbia tragedy when Laurel and six additional crew lost their lives.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global aerospace and defense technology company. Our pioneering solutions equip our customers with the capabilities they need to connect and protect the world and push the boundaries of human exploration across the universe. Driven by a shared purpose to solve our customers' toughest problems, our 95,000 employees define possible every day.

posted 08-04-2023 09:43 AM               

SS Laurel Clark berthed to space station

The installation of Northrop Grumman's NG-19 Cygnus spacecraft, the S.S. Laurel Clark, at the International Space Station is now complete.

At 5:52 a.m. EDT (0952 GMT) on Friday Aug. 4, NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg, with NASA astronaut Frank Rubio acting as backup, captured the cargo vehicle using the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm.

Flight controllers in Houston then actively commanded the arm to rotate Cygnus to its berthing orientation and guide it in to be attached to the station's Unity module Earth-facing port at 8:28 a.m. EDT (1228 GMT).

Cygnus will remain at the space station until October before it departs for a destructive re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.

posted 12-22-2023 10:03 AM               

SS Laurel Clark released from space station

Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft, the "S.S. Laurel Clark," was released from the Canadarm2 robotic arm, which earlier detached Cygnus from the Earth-facing port of the International Space Station’s Unity module, at 8:06 a.m. EST (1306 GMT) on Friday (Dec. 22). At the time of release, the station was flying over the Atlantic Ocean.

Following a deorbit engine firing in early January, Cygnus will begin a planned destructive re-entry, in which the spacecraft — filled with trash packed by the station crew — will safely burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.