Tag: Cygnus
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Science and supplies fly on Falcon 9, Cygnus NG-21
For the second time in 2024, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft delivered a bounty of science experiments and cargo to the crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The CRS NG-21 mission dodged the weather that scrubbed it on Saturday, with a Sunday lift off on a Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at…
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NASA and SpaceX launch a Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft to the International Space Station
A shock collar forms around SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket as it ascended from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Sunday, August 4, 2024. The NG-21 mission launched a Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft to begin a roughly 40-hour journey to the ISS. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now Update 9:02 p.m. EDT: The Cygnus spacecraft…
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Sierra Space tests upcoming in-space habitat as other commercial space stations continue development
On Jan. 21, Sierra Space performed an “ultimate burst pressure test” on a full-scale model of its Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) habitat — an inflatable space station module. The launcher-agnostic habitat is designed to be launched encapsulated within any four-meter fairing, docked to a space station in orbit, and then inflated to a 9-meter…
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ISS Roundup: Cygnus NG-20, Axiom Mission 3, and Progress MS-26
This month, the International Space Station (ISS) has seen a flurry of activity, from experiments to vehicle arrivals and departures. Multiple resupply missions by Cygnus and Progress have kept the crew of Expedition 70 healthy onboard the Station. Meanwhile, a private mission from Axiom headed back to Earth with the first-ever all-European commercial crew, and…
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Rocket Report: SpaceX at the service of a rival; Endeavour goes vertical
Welcome to Edition 6.29 of the Rocket Report! Right now, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is the only US launch vehicle offering crew or cargo service to the International Space Station. The previous version of Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket retired last year, forcing that company to sign a contract with SpaceX to launch its Cygnus supply…
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ISS Roundup: new Axiom crewmates, robotic hops, and long-duration mission research
This month, the Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) crew joined the seven existing astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) from the Expedition 70 mission, comprised of the crews of Crew-7 and Soyuz MS-24 — becoming the first all-European crewed mission to the Station. This brings a total of 11 astronauts aboard the ISS and a…
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SpaceX launches Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft on its way to the Space Station
SpaceX launches a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft onboard. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now SpaceX completed its second mission bound for the International Space Station this month. But unlike all previous missions targeting the orbiting outpost, this flight didn’t feature a Dragon spacecraft. At 12:07 p.m. EST (1707 UTC) SpaceX launched a…
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CRS NG-20 launches cargo, science to ISS aboard Falcon 9
The NG-20 mission has flown the Cygnus spacecraft S.S. Patricia Hilliard Robertson to a path that will take it to the International Space Station. However, as a first, it has launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 instead of an Antares rocket. This will be the first of three Cygnus missions to fly aboard Falcon 9…
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ISS Roundup: 25 year anniversary, spacewalks, cargo arrivals and departures
The final quarter of 2023 saw the International Space Station (ISS) celebrate 25 years in orbit, though there was no letup in the ongoing work as the Expedition 70 crew settled into the tasks and experiments that are carried out onboard the orbital laboratory. Cargo spacecraft arrived at the Station carrying supplies and fresh experiments…
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A flawless Cygnus launch brings eras to a close
WALLOPS ISLAND, Va.—I had been told that rocket launches are a physical experience, that the carefully controlled explosions that send payloads to space create waves of sound intense enough to be felt from over a mile away. But my first close-up experience with a launch involved the relatively small Electron rocket, and that left me…