Stephanie Plucinsky – Space Station

Starliner Lands in New Mexico

Boeing’s Starliner touches down at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico at 12:01 a.m. EDT Saturday, Sept. 7, completing the agency’s Crew Flight Test. Photo credit: NASA

At 12 a.m. EDT, Boeing’s uncrewed Starliner spacecraft landed at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.

NASA will provide coverage of a post-landing news conference at 1:30 a.m. on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.

The following will participate in the news conference:

Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington
Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida
Dana Weigel, manager, International Space Station, NASA Johnson

Learn more about the mission by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on X, and @NASACommercialCrew on Facebook.

NASA’s Coverage Underway, Starliner Prepares for Deorbit Burn

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is seen during its return to Earth after undocking from the International Space Station at 6:04 p.m. EDT on Friday, June 6, 2024. Photo credit: NASA

NASA’s coverage is underway on NASA+, the NASA app, and YouTube, and the agency’s website as Boeing’s uncrewed Starliner spacecraft prepares for deorbit burn, entry, and landing.

Starliner autonomously undocked from the forward-facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module at 6:04 p.m. EDT, and mission managers gave a “go” for the spacecraft to proceed for a deorbit burn.

Starliner’s deorbit burn is expected at 11:17 p.m. EDT and involves the spacecraft firing its larger orbital maneuvering and attitude control thrusters, providing the power necessary to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere.

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NASA’s Northrop Grumman Cygnus Continues to Space Station

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft continues on its way to the International Space Station following launch at 11:02 a.m. EDT Aug. 4 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The Cygnus spacecraft completed the deployment of its two solar arrays at 2:21 p.m. the same day.

The Cygnus spacecraft has completed two delta velocity burns, and it remains on track for a capture by the space station’s robotic arm slated for 3:10 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 6. The spacecraft is in a safe trajectory, and all other systems are operating normally.

Shortly after launch on Sunday, the spacecraft performed as designed by cancelling a scheduled engine burn due to a slightly low initial pressure reading flagged by the Cygnus onboard detection system. Engineers at Northrop Grumman’s mission control center in Dulles, Virginia evaluated the pressure reading, confirmed it was acceptable and re-worked the burn plan to arrive at the space station on the originally planned schedule.

NASA will provide live coverage of the spacecraft’s arrival beginning at 1:30 a.m. Aug. 6 on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, X, Facebook, and the agency’s website. Additional updates will be posted as needed.

NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick will capture Cygnus using the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm, and NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps is backup. After capture, the spacecraft will be installed on the Unity module’s Earth-facing port.

This is Northrop Grumman’s 21st commercial resupply mission for NASA.

Learn more about station activities by following @space_station and @ISS_Research on X as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

NASA’s Northrop Grumman Cygnus Completes Solar Arrays Deployment

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft completed the deployment of its two solar arrays at 2:21 p.m. EDT after launching at 11:02 a.m. Aug. 4 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida to the International Space Station for NASA.

Shortly after launch, the spacecraft missed its first burn slated for 11:44 a.m. due to a late entry to burn sequencing. Known as the targeted altitude burn, or TB1, it was rescheduled for 12:34 p.m., but aborted the maneuver shortly after the engine ignited due to a slightly low initial pressure state. There is no indication the engine itself has any problem at this time.

Cygnus is at a safe altitude, and Northrop Grumman engineers are working a new burn and trajectory plan. The team aims to achieve the spacecraft’s original capture time on station, which is currently slated for 3:10 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 6.

If all remains on track, NASA will provide live coverage of the spacecraft’s arrival beginning at 1:30 a.m. Aug. 6 on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, X, Facebook, and the agency’s website. Additional updates will be posted as needed.

NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick will capture Cygnus using the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm at approximately 3:10 a.m., and NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps is backup. After capture, the spacecraft will be installed on the Unity module’s Earth-facing port.

This is Northrop Grumman’s 21st commercial resupply mission for NASA.

Learn more about station activities by following @space_station and @ISS_Research on X as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

NASA’s Northrop Grumman 21st Cargo Mission: Cygnus Launches at 11:02 a.m. EDT

A successful liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida as Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft, atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, heads to the International Space Station for the 21st Northrop Grumman resupply mission on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. Photo credit: NASA

At 11:02 a.m. EDT, 8,200 pounds of scientific investigations and cargo launched to the International Space Station on Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft for the company’s 21st commercial resupply services mission for NASA. The spacecraft lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Cygnus will reach its preliminary orbit about 10 minutes after launch and is expected to deploy its solar arrays about three hours later.

NASA will provide live coverage of the spacecraft’s arrival beginning at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6 on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, X, Facebook, and the agency’s website.

NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick will capture Cygnus using the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm at approximately 3:10 a.m., and NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps is backup.

Learn more about station activities by following @space_station and @ISS_Research on X as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

NASA’s Northrop Grumman 21st Cargo Mission: Launch Coverage Underway

A Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply spacecraft, atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, stands tall at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, in preparation for a launch to the International Space Station. Photo credit: SpaceX

NASA’s coverage is underway on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, X, Facebook, and the agency’s website for the launch of Northrop Grumman’s 21st commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station.

The company’s Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled for liftoff at 11:02 a.m. EDT on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Filled with more than 8,200 pounds of scientific investigations, food, supplies, and equipment, Cygnus will arrive at the orbiting outpost on Tuesday, Aug. 6. NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick will capture Cygnus using the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm, and NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps is backup. After capture, the spacecraft will be installed on the Unity module’s Earth-facing port.

Learn more about station activities by following @space_station and @ISS_Research on X as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

NASA, Northrop Grumman Delay Cargo Resupply Launch Opportunity

NASA, Northrop Grumman, and SpaceX are standing down from the launch opportunity Saturday for the agency’s Northrop Grumman 21st commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station due to weather conditions.

Teams are targeting no earlier than 11:02 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 4 for the next launch opportunity.

For launch updates and more about information on station activities follow the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

NASA’s Northrop Grumman’s NG-21 Launch Readiness Review Complete, Prelaunch News Conference Next

On Tuesday, July 30, 2024, the Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply spacecraft is seen being encapsulated inside the SpaceX Falcon 9 payload fairing as it prepares to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida for the 21st Northrop Grumman commercial resupply services for NASA.

Teams with NASA, Northrop Grumman, and SpaceX completed the final major review before launch – the Launch Readiness Review – for the 21st Northrop Grumman commercial resupply to the International Space Station.

At the conclusion of the review, teams confirmed the target launch time of 11:29 a.m. EDT, Saturday, Aug. 3. Tune in to the agency’s website at 3 p.m. today, Aug. 2, to hear from senior leadership during a prelaunch teleconference.

Participants include:

Bill Spetch, operations integration manager, NASA’s International Space Station Program
Meghan Everett, deputy chief scientist, NASA’s International Space Station Program
Ryan Tintner, vice president, civil space systems, Northrop Grumman
Jared Metter, director, flight reliability, SpaceX
Melody Lovin, launch weather officer, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft will lift off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida to deliver more than 8,200 pounds of crew supplies, equipment, and science experiments to the orbiting laboratory.

Weather officials with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron are currently predicting a 50% chance of favorable weather conditions for launch. Primary weather concerns are for potential violations of the cumulus cloud, surface electric fields, and thick cloud layers rules.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.