NASA to Host Northrop Grumman CRS-19 Prelaunch Briefing Today
A prelaunch teleconference will be held today, July 30, at 5 p.m. EDT or no earlier than 1 hour following the mission Launch Readiness Review. The teleconference will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website and will highlight launch preparations for Northrop Grumman’s 19th contracted cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station to deliver more than 8,200 pounds of research, supplies, and hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew. Launch is still on schedule for 8:31 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Aug. 1.
Viewers can submit questions for the briefings using #AskNASA on social media.
File photo from June 28, 2022, of a Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft grappled by the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm. Credit: NASA
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft will launch on the company’s Antares rocket from Virginia Space Authority’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
The prelaunch briefing participants:
Joel Montalbano, program manager for the International Space Station, NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston
Heidi Parris, associate program scientist for the International Space Station, NASA Johnson
Steve Krein, vice president, Civil and Commercial Space, Northrop Grumman
Kurt Eberly, director, Space Launch Programs, Northrop Grumman
A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket carrying a Cygnus spacecraft loaded with cargo bound for the International Space Station arrives at the 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: (NASA/Patrick Black)
The Wallops Range forecast issued today for the Tuesday, Aug. 1, launch of Northrop Grumman’s 19th resupply mission to the International Space Station puts weather at 80% favorable.
A weak area of high pressure will move off the coast Sunday evening, as a weak upper-level disturbance tracks toward the Wallops region with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms Monday morning through late Monday evening. The upper-level trough will remain over the Wallops Region Tuesday with a chance of an afternoon, sea breeze, pop-up shower or thunderstorms during the countdown. At this time, the primary concern for launch 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.
Northrop Grumman CRS-19 Mission Prepares for Launch
The next resupply mission to the International Space Station from commercial cargo provider Northrop Grumman is preparing for launch during a window that opens Tuesday, Aug. 1, at 8:31 p.m. EDT at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
On August 10, 2021, the Northrop Grumman Antares vehicle carrying the Cygnus launched at 6:01 p.m. EDT, carrying science, technology and supplies to the International Space Station. Photo Credit: NASA/Brian Bonsteel
Loaded with more than 8,200 pounds of research, crew supplies, and hardware, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft will launch on the company’s Antares rocket from Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad 0A on Wallops Island.
The Cygnus spacecraft for this launch is named in honor of the late NASA astronaut, undersea medical officer, and naval flight officer Laurel Clark. Selected by NASA in 1996, Dr. Clark flew as a mission specialist aboard Columbia STS-107.
Live coverage of the launch will air on NASA Television, the agency’s website and the NASA app beginning at 8 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Aug. 1, with a prelaunch briefing Sunday, July 30 at 5 p.m. EDT.
The NASA Visitor Center at Wallops will be open for this launch. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. EDT. Viewing locations on Chincoteague Island include Robert Reed Park on Main Street or Beach Road spanning the area between Chincoteague and Assateague Islands. The Virginia, Maryland and Delaware Atlantic beaches also provide good viewing locations.
Members of the public outside of the viewing area can register to attend the launch virtually. Virtual guests will have access to curated resources, schedule changes, and mission specific information straight to your inbox. Following each activity, virtual guests are sent a mission-specific collectable stamp for their virtual guest passport. Hear more about the virtual guest program from the Crew-5 astronauts!
Each resupply mission to the station delivers scientific investigations in the areas of biology and biotechnology, Earth and space science, physical sciences, and technology development and demonstrations.
Research investigations and other cargo launching to the orbiting laboratory aboard this Cygnus include:
Neural cells that will be cultured into 3D cell models for gene therapy testing
A probe that measures plasma density of the upper atmosphere
A memory card that contains creative works from students around the world
Cargo resupply from U.S. companies ensures a national capability to deliver critical science research to the space station, significantly increasing NASA’s ability to conduct new investigations at the only laboratory in space.
Payload Maintenance and Relocation, Robotics Session to End Week
NASA astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen installs student-made hardware next to the Destiny laboratory module’s Microgravity Science Glovebox to test a platform that improves the stability of cameras used to track targets on the ground or take images and video inside the International Space Station.
It’s a jam-packed Friday for the Expedition 69 crew aboard the International Space Station. Ahead of their off-duty weekend, the crew moved payloads and stowage and two astronauts completed a second robotics practice session in preparation for next week’s cargo delivery.
Hoburg also fixed some ethernet cables at the Astrobee docking station in the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM). He was later joined by NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio in the afternoon to complete a second robotics practice session for the upcoming rendezvous and capture of the Cygnus cargo spacecraft next week. Cygnus is targeted to launch on Tuesday, August 1, marking Northrop Grumman’s 19th commercial resupply mission.
After the NanoRacks External Platform was removed, Rubio captured the payload and moved it to JEM. Additionally, he and NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen removed the Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform from the Kibo airlock to be stowed and Rubio later performed a visual inspection and video survey of the airlock.
Following yesterday’s troubleshooting of the Glovebox Freezer, Bowen inspected and checked connections once more today. He also replaced hardware in the BioFabrication Facility—a 3D printer that investigates the feasibility of printing organ-like tissues in microgravity. Bowen then moved into the Columbus Laboratory Module to set up Kubik 5 and 6 hardware, designed for self-contained, automatic microgravity investigations aboard the orbital lab. Near the end of his day, Bowen troubleshooted the Fluids Integrated Rack—a fluid physics research facility.
Commander Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos ran the 3D printer in the Zvezda service module while Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev cleaned smoke detectors in the Zarya module and completed some computer maintenance. Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin once again donned the sensor-pack cap to practice piloting techniques that explore how spacefarers may react and control spacecraft on future planetary missions.
Astrobee Powered Off; Crew Completes Payload Maintenance and Preps for Upcoming Missions
iss067e156138 (July 28, 2022) — Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus space freighter is positioned away from the International Space Station on June 28, 2022 in the grips of the Canadarm2 robotic arm prior to its release ending a four-month stay attached to the orbiting lab’s Unity module.
The Expedition 69 crew members carried out more station maintenance activities today aboard the International Space Station as they gear up for a busy month of mission events in August.
NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen was tasked with troubleshooting water supply hoses and replacing connections in the Glovebox Freezer, which integrates into the Life Sciences Glovebox sealed work space to rapid freeze biological samples. Additionally, Bowen removed samples from Iceberg for future assessment, which provides cold stowage for science and research aboard the orbital lab.
NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg and United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi began their day collecting samples for the Standard Measures investigation. Hoburg later completed a cognition test for the ongoing assessment of human spaceflight risks for astronauts before, during, and after long-duration space missions. Midafternoon, he removed the Small Satellite Orbital Deployer from the Japanese Experiment Module after mini satellites were successfully deployed earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Alneyadi powered off Astrobee following yesterday’s Zero Robotics dry-run session and installed sample holders for MATISS—an investigation of antibacterial properties of materials in space. He ended his day inspecting crew safety tethers and gathering tools for future Extravehicular Activities (EVAs) or spacewalks, as well as consolidating food in preparation for the upcoming cargo delivery on Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft.
Cygnus is targeted to launch at 8:31 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, August 1 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. More than 8,200 pounds of supplies and science will be delivered to the crew on Friday, August 4, marking the company’s 19th commercial resupply mission.
NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio enjoyed a well-deserved day off ahead of a busy day of tasks tomorrow.
Commander Sergey Prokoypev of Roscosmos is making headway on the cargo plan preparation for the upcoming ISS Progress 85 mission in August, spending most of his day between prep and performing maintenance in the Zvezda module. Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin carried out additional experiments of liquid phases in microgravity, while Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev completed more upkeep activities in the Nauka module.
The space station is orbiting slightly higher after the 83P fired its engines for five minutes on Thursday. The orbital reboost raises the station to the correct altitude for the upcoming docking of the ISS Progress 85 resupply mission.
