Northrop Grumman - Cygnus NG-17 (CRS) Mission patch.
Feb 21, 2022
Image above: The Cygnus space feighter is pictured in the grip of the Canadarm2 robotic arm shortly after it was captured by NASA astronaut Raja Chari. Image Credit: NASA TV.
At 4:44 a.m. EST, NASA astronaut Raja Chari, with NASA astronaut Kayla Barron acting as backup, captured Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft over the Indian Ocean. Mission control in Houston will send ground commands for the station’s arm to rotate and install it on the station’s Unity module Earth-facing port.
Cygnus spacecraft launched Saturday on an Antares rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia at 12:40 p.m. EST. This is Northrop Grumman’s 17th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA. The Cygnus spacecraft is carrying a fresh supply of 8,300 pounds of scientific investigations and cargo to the orbiting laboratory.
NG-17 S.S. Piers Sellers Cygnus capture
The Cygnus spacecraft is named the S.S. Piers Sellers in honor of the late NASA astronaut who spent nearly 35 days across three missions helping to construct the space station.
Cygnus Installed to Station for Cargo Transfers
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft installation on the International Space Station is now complete. Cygnus launched atop an Antares rocket at 12:40 p.m. EST Saturday, Feb. 19 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. At about 4:44 a.m., NASA astronaut Raja Chari, along with NASA astronaut Kayla Barron as backup, captured Cygnus, carrying 8,300 pounds of research, hardware, and science experiments to the International Space Station.
Highlights of space station research facilitated by this mission include:
- A study that examines the effects of a drug on breast and prostate cancer cells
- A new combustion facility
- An investigation from Colgate-Palmolive that will leverage the acceleration of skin aging in microgravity to help create and validate an engineered tissue model to serve as a platform for testing potential products to protect aging skin
- A demonstration of a lithium-ion secondary battery capable of safe, stable operation under extreme temperatures and in a vacuum environment
- New hydrogen sensors that will be tested for the space station’s oxygen generation system
- A system that will test hydroponic and aeroponic techniques for plant growth and will allow scientists to observe root growth through video and still images
Findings from these and other investigations aboard the space station will contribute to keeping astronauts healthy during long-duration space travel and demonstrate technologies for future human and robotic exploration missions as part of NASA’s Moon and Mars efforts, including lunar missions through the agency’s Artemis program.
Image above: Feb. 21, 2022: International Space Station Configuration. Five spaceships are parked at the space station including the SpaceX Crew Dragon; Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus space freighter; and Russia’s Soyuz MS-19 crew ship and the Progress 79 and 80 resupply ships. Image Credit: NASA.
Cygnus will also deliver critical hardware to be installed during the upcoming ISS Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA) spacewalks, as well as other components for the successful functioning of astronaut life on the space station, such as a trash deployer and acoustic covers for the waste management system.
This Cygnus mission is the first to feature enhanced capabilities that will allow the spacecraft to perform a reboost, using its engines to adjust the space station’s orbit as a standard service for NASA. The agency has one reboost is planned while Cygnus is connected to the orbiting laboratory. A test of the maneuver was performed in 2018 during Cygnus’ ninth resupply mission.
NG-17 S.S. Piers Sellers Cygnus berthing
Cygnus will remain at the space station until May before it deploys CubeSats, then disposes of several thousand pounds of trash during its re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, which will result in its destruction.
Related articles:
Solar Arrays Deploy on Cargo Craft Heading to Station
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2022/02/solar-arrays-deploy-on-cargo-craft.html
Liftoff of Northrop Grumman’s CRS-17
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2022/02/liftoff-of-northrop-grummans-crs-17.html
Weather 75% Favorable for Saturday Antares Launch
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2022/02/weather-75-favorable-for-saturday.html
Northrop Grumman’s 17th Resupply Mission Carries Science Experiments, Technology Demonstrations to Space Station
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2022/02/northrop-grummans-17th-resupply-mission.html
Related links:
Combustion facility: https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/space/iss-research/iss-fcf/cir/sofie/
Skin aging in microgravity: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8228
Lithium-ion secondary battery: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8566
Hydrogen sensors: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8040
Hydroponic and aeroponic: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8088
ISS Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1876
International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
Images (mentioned), Videos, Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia/NASA TV/SciNews.
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