Live coverage has concluded for Northrop Grumman’s 17th resupply mission to the International Space Station. The company’s Antares rocket carrying a Cygnus cargo spacecraft lifted off on time, 12:40 p.m. EST, from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia.
The International Space Station-bound Cygnus spacecraft aboard Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket has lifted off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad 0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.
A fresh supply 8,300 pounds of scientific investigations and cargo is on its way to the International Space Station on a Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply spacecraft after launching on an Antares rocket at 12:40 p.m. EST Saturday from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
About 2 hours and 45 minutes after launch, Cygnus will reach its preliminary orbit and deploy its solar arrays.
Live coverage has begun for Northrop Grumman’s 17th resupply mission to the International Space Station. NASA and its commercial cargo provider Northrop Grumman are targeting 12:40 p.m. EST for the launch of the company’s Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia.
A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket illuminated by the rising Sun. Credit: NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility/Patrick Black
Loaded with more than 8,300 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.
an investigation from Colgate-Palmolive that will leverage the acceleration of skin aging in microgravity to help create and validate an engineered tissue model to serve as a platform for testing potential products to protect aging skin
a demonstration of a lithium-ion secondary battery capable of safe, stable operation under extreme temperatures and in a vacuum environment
new hydrogen sensors that will be tested for the space station’s oxygen generation system
a system that will test hydroponic and aeroponic techniques for plant growth and will allow scientists to observe root growth through video and still images
NACHOS CubeSat. Credits: Los Alamos National Laboratory
In addition, the Cygnus carries a small satellite called NACHOS: Weighing just 13 pounds, this prototype instrument could make it easier to monitor volcanic activity and air quality.
Northrop Grumman’s 17th commercial resupply mission for NASA to the International Space Station, is scheduled to launch within a five-minute window that opens 12:40 p.m. EST today, Feb. 19.
The launch range forecast remains 75% favorable, with ground winds being the primary concern.
April 2019 file photo of an Antares rocket launch from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Island, Virginia. Credit: NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility/Jamie Adkins
Launch of Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket carrying a Cygnus cargo spacecraft will be from Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia.
April 2016 file photo of late astronaut Piers Sellers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Rebecca Roth
Loaded with more than 8,300 pounds of research, crew supplies, and hardware, the Cygnus spacecraft is named the S.S. Piers Sellers in honor of the late NASA astronaut who spent nearly 35 days across three missions helping to construct the space station. A tireless champion of Earth science, Sellers died in December 2016, more than a year after learning he had pancreatic cancer.
A launch on Saturday would put the Cygnus at the space station on Monday, Feb. 21. At about 4:35 a.m., NASA astronaut Raja Chari will capture Cygnus, with NASA astronaut Kayla Barron acting as backup. After Cygnus capture, mission control in Houston will send ground commands for the station’s arm to rotate and install it on the station’s Unity module Earth-facing port.
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.
