Countdown Underway; Weather 90% Favorable for Antares Launch
The countdown is underway for tonight’s launch of NASA commercial resupply provider Northrop Grumman‘s Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo spacecraft. Weather is now 90% favorable for the launch of this resupply mission to the International Space Station.
A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket carrying a Cygnus spacecraft loaded with cargo bound for the International Space Station is stood up vertical on Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad-0A, Friday, July 28, 2023, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Northrop Grumman’s 19th contracted cargo resupply mission with NASA to the International Space Station will deliver more than 8,200 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew. The CRS-19 Cygnus spacecraft is named after NASA astronaut Dr. Laurel Clark who flew aboard Columbia STS-107, and is scheduled to launch at 8:31 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023. Photo Credit: (Northrop Grumman/Thom Baur)
Live coverage of the launch with commentary will air on NASA Television, the agency’s website and the NASA app beginning at 8 p.m. EDT.
The five-minute launch window opens at 8:31 p.m. EDT, with liftoff taking place from Virginia Space Authority’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad-0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
The NASA Visitor Center at Wallops will be open for this launch. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. EDT and be closed once the visitor center reaches capacity.
Backup viewing locations on Chincoteague Island include Robert Reed Park on Main Street or Beach Road spanning the area between Chincoteague and Assateague Islands. The beach at the Assateague Island National Seashore/Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge will NOT be open during the launch.
Cygnus Launching Today as Crew Works Eye-Brain Study and Spacewalk Preps
Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket with the cargo-packed Cygnus space freighter atop counts down to liftoff from its launch pad at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Credit: NASA/Patrick Black
The Cygnus space freighter sits atop its Antares rocket from Northrop Grumman counting down to a launch today from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Packed aboard Cygnus are over 8,200 pounds of science experiments, crew supplies, spacewalk gear, hardware, and computer equipment.
Antares will fire its engines at 8:31 p.m. EDT today launching the Cygnus cargo craft into Earth orbit. Just over nine minutes later Cygnus will separate from its booster. It will then deploy its solar arrays just over two hours after that beginning a two-and-a-half-day trip to the International Space Station.
Expedition 69 will be awaiting Cygnus as NASA Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg prepares to capture the U.S. resupply ship with the Canadarm2 robotic arm at 5:55 a.m. on Friday. NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio will be on backup duty monitoring Cygnus’ approach and rendezvous.
Mission controllers on the ground will remotely take control of the Canadarm2 after Cygnus’ capture on Friday and install it to the Unity module’s Earth-facing port about two hours later. Cygnus is scheduled to end its stay at the orbital lab at the end of October.
Hoburg and Rubio brushed up on their robotics skills mid-Tuesday practicing Cygnus capture techniques on a computer then reviewed Cygnus’ approach and rendezvous timeline. Rubio also serviced temperature and humidity control hardware in the Kibo laboratory module. Hoburg attached electrodes around NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen’s eyes to measure any space-caused eye, brain, and blood vessel changes.
UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi spent most of his day on maintenance tasks. He configured demonstration hardware in Kibo that will help scientists conduct space experiments from Earth. Afterward, Alneyadi installed visual inspection hardware to observe the internal performance of life support gear located in the Tranquility module. Finally, the UAE’s first long-term station resident photographed Hoburg and Bowen during their biomedical activities.
NASA and SpaceX now are targeting 5:23 a.m. EDT Monday, Aug. 21, for the launch of the agency’s Crew-7 mission to the International Space Station. The adjusted date allows additional time for launch site processing at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. If needed, a backup opportunity is available at 3:49 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 25.
Two cosmonauts are once again preparing for another spacewalk for more work outside the station’s Roscosmos segment. Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin began gathering tools and reviewing procedures today to install micrometeoroid orbital debris shields and relocate hardware during a spacewalk planned for Aug. 9. Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev is training for his role when he will be at the controls of the European robotic arm assisting the spacewalking duo.
L-24 Forecast: Still 80% Favorable for Antares Launch
A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket carrying a Cygnus spacecraft loaded with cargo bound for the International Space Station stands vertical on Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad-0A, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Northrop Grumman’s 18th contracted cargo resupply mission with NASA to the International Space Station will deliver more than 8,000 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew. The CRS-18 Cygnus spacecraft is named after the first American woman in space, Sally Ride, and is scheduled to launch at 5:50 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 6, 2022, EST. Photo Credit: (NASA/Jamie Adkins)
The Wallops Range 24-hour forecast issued today for the Tuesday, Aug. 1, launch of Northrop Grumman’s 19th resupply mission to the International Space Station continues to keep weather at 80% favorable, with a slight chance of cumulus clouds being the main weather concern.
The upper-level trough will remain over the Wallops Region Tuesday with a chance of an afternoon pop-up shower or thunderstorms during the countdown. At this time, the primary concern for the launch window is a slight chance of cumulus clouds.
NASA commercial cargo provider Northrop Grumman is targeting 8:31 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Aug. 1, for the launch.
A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket carrying a Cygnus spacecraft loaded with cargo bound for the International Space Station is stood up vertical on Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad-0A, Friday, July 28, 2023, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Photo Credit: (Northrop Grumman/Thom Baur)
The Expedition 69 crew is gearing up for a cargo delivery to the International Space Station this week. Health investigations and spacesuit surveys were also conducted today.
NASA astronauts Woody Hoburg and Frank Rubio spent most of their day preparing for Friday’s capture of Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft. The duo completed another robotics practice session of Cygnus berthing and capture in the morning, followed by a practice of grapple procedures in the Cupola using the station’s robotic arm, Canadarm2, in the afternoon.
Cygnus is targeted to launch tomorrow, Aug. 1 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, carrying more than 8,200 pounds of supplies and science to the station. On Friday, Aug. 4, Hoburg will capture Cygnus using Canadarm2, and Rubio will act as backup, marking Northrop Grumman’s 19th commercial resupply mission.
Near the end of the day, Rubio consolidated food supplies in preparation for Cygnus’s arrival. Meanwhile, Hoburg verified the battery power of jetpacks attached to spacesuits. The jetpacks, also known as SAFERs (Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue), provide astronauts the ability to maneuver back to the station in the unlikely event they became untethered during a spacewalk.
UAE (United Arab Emirates) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi completed orbital plumbing tasks in the morning. He then moved into the Harmony module to prep for Friday’s space freighter capture and ended his day setting up the Berthing Camera System in the Unity module.
NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen conducted Immunity Assay operations, an ongoing investigation that aims to monitor the impact of spaceflight stressors on cellular immune functions.
L-48 Forecast: Still 80% Favorable for Antares Launch
A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket carrying a Cygnus spacecraft loaded with cargo bound for the International Space Station stands vertical on Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad-0A, Saturday, July 29, 2023, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Northrop Grumman’s 19th contracted cargo resupply mission with NASA to the International Space Station will deliver more than 8,200 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew. The CRS-19 Cygnus spacecraft is named after NASA astronaut Dr. Laurel Clark who flew aboard Columbia STS-107, and is scheduled to launch at 8:31 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023. Photo Credit: (NASA/Patrick Black)
The Wallops Range 48-hour forecast issued today for the Tuesday, Aug. 1, launch of Northrop Grumman’s 19th resupply mission to the International Space Station continues to keep weather at 80% favorable, with a slight chance of cumulus clouds being the main weather concern.
NASA commercial cargo provider Northrop Grumman is targeting 8:31 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Aug. 1, for the launch.
