Following the successful launch of NASA’s Northrop Grumman 21st commercial resupply mission, new scientific experiments and essential cargo are en route to the International Space Station (ISS).
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft, carrying over 8,200 pounds of supplies, was launched at 11:02 a.m. EDT on Sunday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Despite missing its first scheduled burn due to a late entry to burn sequencing and an aborted subsequent burn because of slightly low initial pressure, Cygnus remains at a safe altitude. The spacecraft successfully deployed its two solar arrays at 2:21 p.m., and Northrop Grumman engineers are developing a new burn and trajectory plan to maintain the original capture schedule.
Live coverage of the spacecraft’s arrival is set to begin at 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 6, on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick will use the station’s robotic arm to capture Cygnus at approximately 3:10 a.m., with NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps serving as backup.
This resupply mission supports dozens of research experiments conducted during Expedition 71. Highlights of these investigations include:
- Test articles to evaluate liquid and gas flow through porous media in space station life support systems
- A STEMonstration involving a balloon, penny, and hexnut to explore centripetal force
- Microorganisms known as Rotifers to study the effects of spaceflight on DNA repair mechanisms
- A bioreactor to demonstrate the production of high-quality blood and immune stem cells
These experiments represent just a fraction of the extensive research in biology, biotechnology, physical sciences, and Earth and space science performed aboard the ISS. This research not only benefits humanity but also supports future human exploration through NASA’s Artemis campaign, which aims to send astronauts to the Moon as a precursor to Mars expeditions.
NASA’s arrival and in-flight event coverage schedule is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):
- Tuesday, Aug. 6
- 1:30 a.m. – Arrival coverage begins on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
- 3:10 a.m. – Capture of Cygnus with the space station’s robotic arm.
- 4:30 a.m. – Cygnus installation coverage begins on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
This mission marks Northrop Grumman’s 21st to the space station for NASA and the 10th under the Commercial Resupply Services 2 contract. The Cygnus spacecraft, named the S.S. Francis R. “Dick” Scobee in honor of the former NASA astronaut, will remain at the ISS until January before re-entering Earth’s atmosphere to dispose of several thousand pounds of trash.–News Desk