One day after the arrival of a Russian cargo ship, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched an upgraded Northrop Grumman space freighter Sunday, putting the unpiloted spacecraft on course for capture by the International Space Station early Wednesday.
If all goes well, the spacecraft will catch up with the space station early Wednesday for capture by the lab’s robot arm.
Sunday’s launch was the third of at least four SpaceX flights purchased by Northrop Grumman while the company develops a new booster of its own.
“We’ve been partnering with Northrop Grumman on this update, and we’re excited that Northrop is ready to deliver this incredibly beneficial increase in capacity,” Contella said.
To date, SpaceX has successfully carried out 32 Dragon resupply missions, while Northrop Grumman has launched 21 successful flights.
The upgraded Northrop Grumman space freighter was launched Sunday by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, one day after a Russian cargo ship arrived. The unpiloted spacecraft is headed to be captured by the ISS early on Wednesday.
Including holiday treats for the station crew, over five tons of crew supplies, research materials, and necessary spare parts are on board.
Dina Contella, deputy manager of the space station program at the Johnson Space Center, stated, “The (Cygnus) is packed with consumables, like nitrogen, oxygen, food, and toilet parts, and it has a large number of spare parts that are required for systems like, for example, our urine processor.”.
Due to a shortage during the previous year, we are increasing our supply of these items in order to have a healthy supply for the future. “..”.
More delectable dishes “are what I’d call specialties,” Contella said of the food being delivered. The crew can consume these dishes—which include clams, oysters, crab, roast turkey, and smoked salmon—as well as sweets like cookies, ice cream, and candies during any of the approaching holidays or really at any time. “,”.
“Dot is the name of our high school breakfast competition dish. Shakshuka scramble. It is modeled after an egg dish cooked in a spicy sauce that is well-liked in the Middle East and North Africa. “..”.
The Falcon 9’s first stage engines roared to life at 6:11 p.m. on pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. M. In order to propel the rocket into the early evening sky on a northeasterly trajectory that matched the orbit of the space station, EDT produced 1–7 million pounds of thrust.
It was SpaceX’s 67th touchdown in Florida and its 505th successful booster recovery overall. The first stage separated, reversed course, and flew itself back to a spectacular landing at the Space Force station after powering out of the dense lower atmosphere.
In contrast, 14 and a half minutes after liftoff, the second stage of the Falcon 9 placed the Cygnus into the prearranged preliminary orbit and let it fly on its own. Early on Wednesday, if everything goes according to plan, the spacecraft will reach the space station so that the robot arm of the lab can capture it.
Four days after a Russian Progress cargo ship, which was launched from Kazakhstan on Thursday, docked at the lab’s aft port, bringing propellant, a new Russian spacesuit, and other necessary supplies to the outpost, berthing will take place.
While Northrop Grumman is working on a new booster of its own, the launch on Sunday was the third of at least four SpaceX flights that the company has acquired. Additionally, the Cygnus XL, so called because the spacecraft has been lengthened to carry more cargo to the space station, made its first flight.
“We’ve been working with Northrop Grumman on this update, and we’re thrilled that Northrop is prepared to provide this tremendously useful capacity boost,” Contella stated. It is roughly 1.6 meters (5 feet) longer and has a cargo capacity of 2,600 pounds more. “..”.
SpaceX’s Dragon and NASA’s Cygnus spacecraft are used for cargo delivery flights. To date, Northrop Grumman has launched 21 successful flights and SpaceX has completed 32 Dragon resupply missions. At the beginning of the commercial resupply program, both companies experienced one in-flight malfunction each.
