This file photo from Feb. 22, 2021, show the Cygnus spacecraft from Northrop Grumman moments before its capture with the Canadarm2 robotic arm.
The solar arrays have successfully deployed on Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft that is on its way to deliver approximately 8,300 pounds of scientific investigations, cargo, and supplies to the International Space Station. Cygnus launched on the Antares rocket at 12:40 p.m. EST Saturday from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island in Virginia.
Coverage of the spacecraft’s approach and arrival to the orbiting laboratory will begin Monday, Feb. 21, at 3 a.m. EST on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.
Astronauts Kayla Barron and Raja Chari will work together to guide Cygnus into place using the Canadarm2 robotic arm.
This file photo from Feb. 16, 2021, shows the Northrop Grumman CRS-15 Antares rocket on Pad-0A on Wallops Island Virginia. Credit: NASA Wallops/Patrick Black
The Wallops Range continues to predict 75% favorable weather 24 hours ahead of the launch window of NASA commercial cargo provider Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo spacecraft.
The primary concern for launch at this time is strong southwesterly surface winds that could violate weather constraints.
Northrop Grumman is targeting 12:40 p.m EST Saturday, Feb. 19, for the International Space Station-bound Cygnus spacecraft, loaded with about 8,300 pounds of research, crew supplies, and hardware. Launch will be from Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.
Live coverage of the launch will air on NASA Television, the agency’s website and the NASA app beginning at 12:15 p.m. EST Saturday, Feb. 19.
For those in the mid-Atlantic region, weather permitting, you may have a chance to see the Antares rocket in the sky after launch. Check out the visibility map below.
This map shows how many seconds after launch the Antares rocket may be visible in the sky to the mid-Atlantic region.
The Wallops Range continues to predict 75% favorable weather for the Saturday, Feb. 19, launch window of NASA commercial cargo provider Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo spacecraft. The primary concern for launch at this time is strong southwesterly ground winds.
File photo from Aug. 10, 2021, showing liftoff of a Northrop Grumman Antares vehicle from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Island, Virginia. Credits: NASA Wallops/Allison Stancil
Tune in Friday, Feb. 18, at 1 p.m. ET for a prelaunch briefing teleconference with the following participants:
Joel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station Program
Jennifer Buchli, deputy chief scientist, International Space Station Program
Steve Krein, vice president, civil and commercial space, Tactical Space Systems, Northrop Grumman
Kurt Eberly, director, Space Launch Programs, Launch and Missile Defense Systems, Northrop Grumman
Jeff Reddish, project manager, NASA Wallops Range Antares Project
Media who wish to participate in the teleconference must contact Gina Anderson at: 202-358-1160 or gina.n.anderson@nasa.gov at least two hours prior to the start of the teleconference for dial-in information.
Questions can be submitted on social media using #AskNASA.
The Wednesday, Feb. 16, Wallops Range forecast predicts 75% favorable weather for the Saturday, Feb. 19, launch window of NASA commercial cargo provider Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo spacecraft.
A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket carrying a Cygnus resupply spacecraft is seen as it is transported to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad-0A, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Credit: NASA Wallops/Patrick Black
The primary concern for launch at this time is strong southwesterly ground winds.
A strong upper-level shortwave digs out of the Great Lakes region Saturday morning and moves through the northern mid-Atlantic region early Saturday afternoon. This will push a secondary cold front across the Wallops area near the time of T-0 on Feb. 19. Surface winds will increase out of the southwest Saturday morning and there is a chance for a few cumulus clouds to develop to our northwest prior to the launch window.
The Northrop Grumman (NG) CRS-17 cargo resupply mission is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 19, at 12:40 p.m. EST. The Cygnus spacecraft will launch aboard the Antares vehicle carrying nearly 8,300 pounds of science, cargo, and technology demonstrations to the International Space Station.
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. Credit: NASA/Brian Bonsteel
Antares will lift off from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia, from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad 0A launch pad.
We’re inviting the public to participate in a virtual #NASASocial event for the Northrop Grumman CRS-17 Cargo Resupply mission. While we cannot invite the public onsite for one of our usual NASA Social events, we are excited to present an opportunity for people of all ages from all around the world to participate in.
We will share videos and information up until the day of launch including:
Science overviews
Live stream of the NG CRS-17 launch
Behind-the-scenes processing of the Cygnus spacecraft
RSVP to the Facebook event for social media updates to stay up to date on mission information, mission highlights, and interaction opportunities.
Don’t have Facebook? You can join our Eventbrite virtual guest program for this mission. NASA’s virtual guest experience also includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities or changes, and a stamp for the NASA virtual guest passport following a successful launch.
With school just around the corner, we wondered what lessons served as an introduction to space for the virtual guests of our upcoming launch, Northrop Grumman’s 16th contracted commercial resupply services mission for NASA to the International Space Station.
Teachers and parents interested in fostering a love of space, take note. Most answers cited science, physics, astronomy, and math classes as catching their awareness. Among specific lessons, guests recalled calculating their weight on different planets, building a space backpack tank, and Professor Kaufmanis “Star of Bethlehem” lectures at the University of Minnesota.
Stennis Space Center mascot Orbie is presented to students during outreach activities at Lillie Burney Elementary School in Hattiesburg, Miss. NASA senior staff members from Stennis Space Center visited the school Jan. 27, 2012, for a morning of activities and outreach to students and school officials.
Are you a teacher working on an amazing lesson plan? Sometimes it doesn’t take much to spark an interest. One respondent shared that “my first-grade reader had a page about the lunar landing. It was always my favorite!” Another said they enjoyed learning about space due to “low effort lesson days where the teacher would play ‘Bill Nye the Science Guy.’”
Who doesn’t love to watch a launch? Watching launches or landings was also frequently mentioned either in the classroom or in other settings. Witnessing the Apollo missions, space shuttle missions, or NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission with the first astronauts launching in a Crew Dragon just last year, had a lasting effect on interest in space according to this set of virtual guests.
Lessons learned outside of school stuck with our respondents as well. Over 30 said it was their dad, mom, or grandparent that taught them about space. Two special grandparents mentioned they’ve gotten their lessons on space from their grandchildren. And a handful of respondents have been lucky enough to meet astronauts and cite those encounters as why they engage with space now.
To really take it back to basics, a few guests responded that sleeping outside sparked their interest! One shared that they saw a meteor and “remember that color to this day.”
Virtual passport.
Whatever the lesson or reason you’re interested in space, we’d love to have you along as part of our virtual guest program. You can join our standing list or register for specific upcoming missions. In addition to sharing your thoughts on a launch-related question, virtual guests receive emails with curated launch resources, notifications about NASA activities, and updates on any launch time or date changes.
Whether it’s your first stamp or your eighth, NASA hopes you’ll print, fold, and get ready to fill your virtual passport. These are great for students of all ages! Stamps will be emailed following docking to all virtual attendees who registered by email.
For teachers, NASA also offers STEM resources for all ages – K-12, college, or university. Topics include engineering, Earth science, life science, math, physics, and more. You can find lesson plans and activities, posters and imagery, interactive media and more.
Northrop Grumman is targeting launch no earlier than 5:56 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Aug. 10. The Cygnus spacecraft on an Antares rocket is scheduled to lift off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s pad 0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia.
The Northrop Grumman and Wallops teams have been hard at work preparing the Cygnus spacecraft for its journey to the International Space Station. Check out these behind-the-scenes photos of the process!
Northrop Grumman teams load cargo into the Cygnus spacecraft that will be sent up to the International Space Station.Northrop Grumman Technicians secure the cargo inside the Cygnus spacecraft.The Cygnus spacecraft is prepared to be attached to the second stage of the Antares vehicle.The Cygnus spacecraft is prepared to be attached to the second stage of the Antares vehicle.
