The solar arrays have successfully deployed on Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft that is on its way to deliver more than 8,200 pounds ofscientific investigations, cargo, and supplies to the International Space Station after launching at 8:31 p.m. EDT Sunday from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.
File photo from June 28, 2022, of a Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft grappled by the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm. Credit: NASA
Coverage of the spacecraft’s approach and arrival to the orbiting laboratory will begin Friday, Aug. 4, at 4:30 a.m. EST on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website, followed by installation coverage at 7:30 a.m.
NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg will capture Cygnus using the station’s robotic arm, and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio will act as backup. After capture, the spacecraft will be installed on the Unity module’s Earth-facing port.
This delivery is Northrop Grumman’s 19th contracted cargo flight to the space station and will support dozens of new and existing investigations.
NASA commercial cargo provider Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket with Cygnus cargo spacecraft aboard lifted off from Pad-0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia at 8:31 p.m. EDT.
This is Northrop Grumman’s 19th contracted resupply mission to the International Space Station. This Cygnus, dubbed the S.S. Laurel Clark, is scheduled to arrive at the space station on Friday, Aug. 4.
A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket, with the company’s Cygnus spacecraft onboard, launched at 8:31 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, from the Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad-0A, 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. Credit: NASA / Terry Zaperach
NASA commercial cargo provider Northrop Grumman is targeting today for the launch of its 19th contracted resupply mission to the International Space Station. The five-minute launch window opens at 8:31 p.m. EDT. Live launch commentary has begun on NASA TV.
A launch tonight would put Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft at the space station on Friday, Aug. 4.
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.
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.
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.
