A successful liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida as Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft, atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, heads to the International Space Station for the 21st Northrop Grumman resupply mission on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. Photo credit: NASA
At 11:02 a.m. EDT, 8,200 pounds of scientific investigations and cargo launched to the International Space Station on Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft for the company’s 21st commercial resupply services mission for NASA.The spacecraft lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocketfrom Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Cygnus will reach its preliminary orbit about 10 minutes after launchand is expected to deploy its solar arrays about three hours later. NASA will provide live coverage of the spacecraft’s arrival beginning at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6 on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, X, Facebook, and the agency’s website. NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick will capture Cygnus using the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm at approximately 3:10 a.m., and NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps is backup. Learn more about station activities by following @space_station and @ISS_Research on X as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.
A Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply spacecraft, atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, stands tall at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, in preparation for a launch to the International Space Station. Photo credit: SpaceX
NASA’s coverage is underway on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube,X, Facebook, and the agency’swebsite for the launch of Northrop Grumman’s 21st commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station. Thecompany’s Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled for liftoff at11:02 a.m. EDT on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Filled with more than 8,200 pounds of scientific investigations, food, supplies, and equipment, Cygnus will arrive at the orbiting outpost on Tuesday, Aug. 6. NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick will capture Cygnus using the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm, and NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps is backup. After capture, the spacecraft will be installed on the Unity module’s Earth-facing port.
A Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply spacecraft, atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, stands tall at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, in preparations for a launch to the International Space Station.
NASA, Northrop Grumman, and SpaceX are standing down from the launch opportunity Saturday for the agency’s Northrop Grumman 21st commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station due to weather conditions.
Teams are targeting no earlier than 11:02 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 4 for the next launch opportunity.
Crew Awaits Cygnus’ Arrival and Works on Spacesuits and Eye Checks
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus space freighter is pictured in the grips of the Canadarm2 robotic arm after its capture on Feb. 21, 2024.
Preparations are underway aboard the International Space Station to capture and install a U.S. cargo craft due to arrive next week. Spacesuit checks and health studies were also on the program at the end of the week for the two crews living and working aboard the orbital outpost.
Mission managers have given the go for the launch of Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo craft set for 11:29 a.m. EDT on Saturday from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Cygnus will orbit Earth for a day-and-a-half before arriving at the orbital outpost early Monday.
Expedition 71 Engineers Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps will be on duty Monday monitoring Cygnus’ approach and rendezvous. Dominick will command the Canadarm2 robotic arm to reach out and grapple Cygnus at approximately 3:55 a.m. on Monday. Dominick will be inside the cupola with Epps backing him up Monday morning and keeping an eye on Cygnus as it advances toward the orbital outpost.
The duo spent Friday morning continuing to train on a computer and simulated the robotics activities necessary to capture Cygnus next week. At the end of the day, the NASA pair joined fellow astronauts Tracy C. Dyson, Mike Barratt, Butch Wilmore, and Suni Williams for a Cygnus cargo operations conference with mission controllers on the ground.
Earlier, Dyson, Wilmore, and Williams took turns throughout the day servicing a U.S. spacesuit in the Quest airlock. Dyson started the job first cleaning the spacesuit’s cooling loops. Afterward, Wilmore and Williams took over finishing up the loop cleaning job then finally deconfiguring and stowing the suit components inside Quest.
Dyson later examined the eyes of NASA Flight Engineer Mike Barratt using standard medical imaging hardware found in an optometrist’s office on Earth. Doctors on Earth guided Dyson as she peered in Barratt’s cornea, retina, and lens to understand microgravity’s effect on crew vision. Before the eye checks began, Barratt spent his day servicing a variety of research hardware including the Life Science Glovebox in the Kibo laboratory module and the CIMON mobile crew helper powered by artificial intelligence.
Wilmore and Williams, Boeing’s Crew Flight Test Commander and Pilot respectively, focused primarily on lab maintenance before they began their spacesuit work Friday afternoon. Wilmore spent some time inside the Tranquility module cleaning up cables and stowing electronics components. Williams worked during her morning inside the Columbus laboratory module installing networking gear including a video and data processing unit and a high-rate modem.
Working in the station’s Roscosmos segment, Commander Oleg Kononenko set up Earth observation hardware to study luminous clouds in Earth’s upper atmosphere. Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub started day servicing on oxygen generator, then studied the effects of magnetic and electrical fields on fluid physics, before uninstalling navigation hardware from the Progress 88 resupply ship. Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin spent his day working on orbital plumbing and cleaning ventilation systems while also fitting in an Earth photography session in the middle of the day.
On Tuesday, July 30, 2024, the Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply spacecraft is seen being encapsulated inside the SpaceX Falcon 9 payload fairing as it prepares to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida for the 21st Northrop Grumman commercial resupply services for NASA.
Teams with NASA, Northrop Grumman, and SpaceX completed the final major review before launch – the Launch Readiness Review – for the 21st Northrop Grumman commercial resupply to the International Space Station.
At the conclusion of the review, teams confirmed the target launch time of 11:29 a.m. EDT, Saturday, Aug. 3. Tune in to the agency’s website at 3 p.m. today, Aug. 2, to hear from senior leadership during a prelaunch teleconference.
Participants include:
Bill Spetch, operations integration manager, NASA’s International Space Station Program
Meghan Everett, deputy chief scientist, NASA’s International Space Station Program
Ryan Tintner, vice president, civil space systems, Northrop Grumman
Jared Metter, director, flight reliability, SpaceX
Melody Lovin, launch weather officer, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft will lift off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida to deliver more than 8,200 pounds of crew supplies, equipment, and science experiments to the orbiting laboratory.
Weather officials with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron are currently predicting a 50% chance of favorable weather conditions for launch. Primary weather concerns are for potential violations of the cumulus cloud, surface electric fields, and thick cloud layers rules.
