{"id":24444,"date":"2022-11-08T00:01:54","date_gmt":"2022-11-07T16:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/ss-sally-ride-cygnus-arrives-at-iss-on-ng-18-mission\/"},"modified":"2022-11-08T00:01:54","modified_gmt":"2022-11-07T16:01:54","slug":"ss-sally-ride-cygnus-arrives-at-iss-on-ng-18-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/ss-sally-ride-cygnus-arrives-at-iss-on-ng-18-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"SS Sally Ride Cygnus arrives at ISS on NG-18 mission"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Northrop Grumman launched the second to last Antares 230+ rocket from Wallops Island, Virginia for the NG-18 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) at 5:32:42 AM EST (10:23:423 UTC) on Monday, Nov. 7<\/p>\n<p>Despite one of its solar arrays failing to fully deploy, the cargo vehicle successfully arrived at the ISS for berthing two days later.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>While Northrop Grumman is yet to comment on the interesting event during launch, relating to a large attitude correction at staging and going into the upper stage burn, NG did confirm that one of the vehicle\u2019s two solar arrays had failed to fully deploy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo spacecraft has successfully deployed one of its two solar arrays and completed four rendezvous burns on its way to the International Space Station. To remain focused on the spacecraft\u2019s arrival at the station, Northrop Grumman and NASA made the determination not to deploy the second solar array after initial attempts to deploy it were unsuccessful.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1590278506168352771&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasaspaceflight.com%2F2022%2F11%2Fng-18-launch%2F&amp;sessionId=eeb360a507f9227d7aefc7a9f62ccc8bbfd17769&amp;siteScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\" data-tweet-id=\"1590278506168352771\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1783495959469543117=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The first good view of NG-18 Cygnus with one of its arrays undeployed. pic.twitter.com\/uUl9SQOFUl<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Chris Bergin \u2013 NSF (@NASASpaceflight) November 9, 2022<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThe Cygnus team is gathering information on why the second array did not deploy as planned. Cygnus has sufficient power to rendezvous with the space station Wednesday, Nov. 9. Northrop Grumman is working closely with NASA to monitor and assess the spacecraft ahead of tomorrow\u2019s planned arrival, capture, and installation at the space station.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMission teams also are planning additional inspections of the cargo spacecraft during approach and after capture.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>NASA educational resources<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>Space tourism guides<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>Technology News<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>\n<p>     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n<p>Antares carried an Enhanced Cygnus spacecraft, named the <em>S.S. Sally Ride<\/em>, to orbit on a mission to resupply the Expedition 68 crew. Cygnus is bringing crew supplies, new science experiments, and other payloads, including a new Nanoracks module, to the station before serving as a disposal craft at the end of its mission for soiled clothing, used experiments, and general work and living trash.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, according to Northrop Grumman in an interview with NASASpaceflight, \u201cIt\u2019s gonna be a pretty standard mission. There\u2019s a full science complement,\u201d said Steve Krein, Vice President of Civil and Commercial Space for Northrop Grumman.<\/p>\n<p>Behind that, however, was an increase in payload upmass Northrop Grumman was able to effect on this mission.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo we were able to refine our modeling of the propulsion, both on stage one and stage two, and take out some of the conservatism in our models,\u201d said Kurt Eberly, Director of Space Launch Programs at Northrop Grumman. \u201cWe offered up an additional 70 kilograms, so we were launching 8,050 kilograms on NG-12 to 17. And so for NG-18 and 19, we\u2019ve upped that to 8,120 kilograms.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Antares Launches Cygnus NG-18 to Space Station\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wEZo0qR75Zo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\" name=\"fitvid0\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>This total upmass includes Cygnus\u2019 wet mass after it is loaded with its necessary propellants for on-orbit maneuvers.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"widget-title penci-border-arrow\">See Also<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>NG-18 Updates<\/li>\n<li>NGIS Section<\/li>\n<li>L2 Commercial Cargo<\/li>\n<li>Click here to Join L2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>NG-18 was the first of eight added cargo flights that were ordered by NASA from Northrop Grumman to extend the preexisting Commercial Resupply Services 2 (CRS2) contract of Cygnus. In total, NASA ordered two additional flights in 2020, including NG-18 and NG-19, and then six more in March 2022.<\/p>\n<p>The Cygnus spacecraft for this mission is named after astronaut Sally Ride, who was the first American woman in space. Ride flew on board two Space Shuttle missions aboard the Challenger: STS-7 and STS-41G. Ride also was a member of the Rogers commission following the Challenger Disaster in 1986.<\/p>\n<p>Ride died in 2012 due to pancreatic cancer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is actually a flag that we\u2019re flying, an American flag signed by the students and staff from Sally Ride Elementary School in Los Angeles, California. So, we\u2019re extremely proud to be able to do that, to honor her legacy,\u201d said Krein.<\/p>\n<p>Launch Campaign<\/p>\n<p>The first stage of the Antares rocket was both designed and built in Ukraine. The stage was designed by KB Yuzhnoye and is derived from the now-retired Zenit rocket. The stage was then built by Yuzhmash in Dnipro, Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-89713\" class=\"wp-image-89713\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Cygnus_ng18_northrop_grumman_patch.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"366\" height=\"366\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Cygnus_ng18_northrop_grumman_patch.png 2296w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Cygnus_ng18_northrop_grumman_patch-350x350.png 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Cygnus_ng18_northrop_grumman_patch-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Cygnus_ng18_northrop_grumman_patch-1920x1920.png 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Cygnus_ng18_northrop_grumman_patch-1170x1170.png 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 366px) 100vw, 366px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-89713\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The NG-18 mission patch. (Credit: Northrop Grumman)<\/p>\n<p>The launch vehicle utilizes two Energomash RD-181 engines which were built in Russia. The engines each run on RP-1 kerosene and liquid oxygen (LOX) and have independent thrust vectoring.<\/p>\n<p>The RD-181 engines replaced the Aerojet Rocketdyne AJ-26 engines, which were retooled versions of the Soviet NK-33 engines built by the Kuznetsov Design Bureau. The AJ-26 engines were used on the first four flights of Antares.<\/p>\n<p>Both the RD-181 engines and the first stage of Antares were delivered to Northrop Grumman at Wallops in the fourth quarter of 2021. The hardware for the NG-18 and -19 missions was not affected by Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>The Cygnus spacecraft itself is made up of two segments: the service module, which includes propulsion and the two solar arrays, and the pressurized cargo module. The pressurized cargo module was built by Thales Alenia Space in Italy, while the service module was built by Northrop Grumman.<\/p>\n<p>After Cygnus arrived at Wallops, both segments were mated together, creating the spacecraft as a whole. After this, the spacecraft was transported to another facility on Wallops Island where it was loaded with hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide propellants. It was then transported back to the Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF).<\/p>\n<p>The spacecraft was then rotated to the horizontal position, which allowed personnel to conduct an initial cargo load. Cygnus was then integrated with the Castor 30XL second stage. This was followed by another cargo load before fairing encapsulation.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-89712\" class=\"wp-image-89712 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/FgkzXSEWIAEQ6PH.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2400\" height=\"1600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/FgkzXSEWIAEQ6PH.jpeg 2400w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/FgkzXSEWIAEQ6PH-350x233.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/FgkzXSEWIAEQ6PH-525x350.jpeg 525w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/FgkzXSEWIAEQ6PH-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/FgkzXSEWIAEQ6PH-1920x1280.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/FgkzXSEWIAEQ6PH-1170x780.jpeg 1170w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/FgkzXSEWIAEQ6PH-585x390.jpeg 585w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/FgkzXSEWIAEQ6PH-263x175.jpeg 263w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2400px) 100vw, 2400px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-89712\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Antares 230+ rocket rolls out of the HIF for the 1.7 km journey to Pad-0A on Nov. 2. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<p>On Nov. 2, the Antares 230+ rocket was rolled out from the HIF and was transported 1.7 km (1.1 miles) south to Pad-0A. Once at the pad, the vehicle rolled up the ramp and was integrated with the launch pad.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe take that [Antares] up the ramp to the launch pad, we connect the tail into some hydraulic pistons that are buried in a pit on the pad, and then we push up to vertical,\u201d said Eberly.<\/p>\n<p>The following day, teams conducted a combined systems test, which verifies the interfaces between the vehicle, the launch pad, and the NASA range.<\/p>\n<p>Later that day, Antares was lowered to the horizontal position and a mobile cleanroom was then moved over the nose of the rocket, which allowed the teams to conduct late-load cargo operations 24 hours before launch.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have this unique feature that we\u2019ve developed, which we call the \u201cpop-top\u201d fairing, where we can remove the nose cone of the fairing. And that exposes the hatch of Cygnus through the opening of the fairing. And then we actually put some work platforms in on the surface of the fairing and then we can have the Cygnus cargo operators crawl in there,\u201d said Eberly.<\/p>\n<p>Once late-load was complete, the \u201cpop-top\u201d fairing was reinstalled, and the vehicle was rotated back to vertical for launch.<\/p>\n<p>The countdown for the Nov. 6 launch began at 05:50 UTC or 1:50 AM EDT \u2013 10 minutes before the local time change at Wallops to Eastern Standard Time (EST), which reset the local clock to 1:00 AM EST and therefore gave the launch team the full five hours needed for an Antares countdown.<\/p>\n<p>The countdown for launch began five hours before the planned liftoff.<\/p>\n<p>Journey to the ISS<\/p>\n<p>At T0, the Antares rocket lifted off from Pad-0A. The RD-181 engines on the first stage burned for around three minutes 18 seconds.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-89725\" class=\"wp-image-89725 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/51899696261_c5e6104a9c_k.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2047\" height=\"1150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/51899696261_c5e6104a9c_k.jpg 2047w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/51899696261_c5e6104a9c_k-350x197.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/51899696261_c5e6104a9c_k-623x350.jpg 623w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/51899696261_c5e6104a9c_k-768x431.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/51899696261_c5e6104a9c_k-1920x1079.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/51899696261_c5e6104a9c_k-1170x657.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2047px) 100vw, 2047px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-89725\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cygnus is captured by Canadarm2 during the NG-17 mission in February 2022. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<p>Following this, the single Castor 30XL ignited and burned for several minutes. The second stage was a solid rocket motor developed by Northrop Grumman. After burnout, the Cygnus spacecraft separated into a low Earth orbit of approximately 162 x 311 km, which occur approximately nine minutes after launch.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter separation, we do a couple maneuvers with the upper stage just to make sure there\u2019s no recontact between us and Cygnus using our attitude control system,\u201d said Eberly. \u201cSo we kind of do a crab walk maneuver to back away to make sure that there\u2019s good separation between us and Cygnus.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After separation, Cygnus will conduct periodic burns to allow it to make a timely rendezvous with the ISS. The two solar arrays begin deployment around two hours after launch. However, it was later revealed that only one of the arrays fully deployed.<\/p>\n<p>Cygnus arrived at the ISS two days after launch. NASA astronaut Nicole Mann capture the spacecraft with Canadarm2 to then berth it at one of the ports on the US segment of the Station.<\/p>\n<p>The spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the ISS until January 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Antares 330 Development<\/p>\n<p>After the launch of NG-18, the final launch of the Antares 230+ will occur in the spring of 2023 with the NG-19 mission. This comes as Northrop Grumman responds to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by developing a new version of Antares along with Firefly Aerospace.<\/p>\n<p>After NG-19, three Cygnus missions, NG-20, -21, and -22, will launch on SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 rocket during the interim period where Firefly and Northrop Grumman continue to develop the Antares 330.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe want to get back flying these CRS missions as quickly as possible. So the first increment is just the first stage which is just hard enough of course, but the Antares 330 is going to have the Firefly-provided first stage, coupled with the existing upper stack. And so we think that that just minimizes the scope for Firefly, and it minimizes development to get us back flying CRS missions out of Virginia,\u201d said Eberly.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-89714\" class=\"wp-image-89714 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/3FD5FC5E-2F01-43A9-86EC-478921BFAB6F-1-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/3FD5FC5E-2F01-43A9-86EC-478921BFAB6F-1-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/3FD5FC5E-2F01-43A9-86EC-478921BFAB6F-1-350x233.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/3FD5FC5E-2F01-43A9-86EC-478921BFAB6F-1-525x350.jpeg 525w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/3FD5FC5E-2F01-43A9-86EC-478921BFAB6F-1-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/3FD5FC5E-2F01-43A9-86EC-478921BFAB6F-1-1920x1280.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/3FD5FC5E-2F01-43A9-86EC-478921BFAB6F-1-1170x780.jpeg 1170w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/3FD5FC5E-2F01-43A9-86EC-478921BFAB6F-1-585x390.jpeg 585w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/3FD5FC5E-2F01-43A9-86EC-478921BFAB6F-1-263x175.jpeg 263w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-89714\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A render of the Antares 330. (Credit: Northrop Grumman)<\/p>\n<p>The Antares 330 will consist of the same Castor 30XL upper stage that is currently used on Antares, but the first stage will be developed by Firefly Aerospace and will be similar to their Medium Launch Vehicle (MLV) rocket which is also in development. The first stage will be powered by seven Miranda engines.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re working very hard with Firefly on development of that first stage that\u2019s going to form the basis of the Antares 330. And the employees we have here at Wallops, we intend to keep all of them. So we\u2019re putting them to work on helping us develop that new stage as well as our employees back in Dulles, Virginia, and back in Chandler, Arizona,\u201d said Eberly.<\/p>\n<p>Also, modifications will have to be made to the existing infrastructure on Wallops Island.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve got to adjust the ground support equipment inside the HIF, we\u2019ve got to make the transporter erector launcher bigger, and then we\u2019re also working with Virginia Space to scope out the pad modifications that we\u2019re going to need for this new configuration of the rocket,\u201d said Eberly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s going to have significantly more thrust, can be a little bit bigger diameter, it\u2019s going to be longer. So all those things are going to conspire to require that we add capability to the launch pad. And so that\u2019s in the works as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Antares 330 will also facilitate some new modifications to upgrade the Cygnus spacecraft as well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn the Cygnus side, we won the contract for the next six missions. And one of those complements is what we call a mission B configuration and that actually has an additional ring if you will, to the pressure containment module. The mission B configuration going forward will allow us to actually fly 5,000 kilograms of [cargo] mass,\u201d said Krein.<\/p>\n<p>Along with the Antares 330, Northrop Grumman and Firefly Aerospace are developing a new launch vehicle that will be entirely domestically built and will be available for the NASA, commercial, and national security markets.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re going to then take that same first stage for the Antares 330 and then we\u2019re going to develop with Firefly a new liquid second stage with a bigger fairing,\u201d said Eberly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are calling it the medium launch, and we\u2019re gonna go through a naming contest internally with our employees here\u2026 both us and Firefly. We\u2019ll see who wins. But that capability we\u2019re targeting for debut in late 2025. We think that\u2019s really going to be a powerful competitor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>(Lead image: An Antares 230+ lifts off from Pad-0A at Wallops. Credit: NASA\/Joel Kowsky&nbsp;|&nbsp;Credit:&nbsp;(NASA\/Joel Kowsky))<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Northrop Grumman launched the second to last Antares 230+ rocket from Wallops Island, Virginia for the NG-18 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) at 5:32:42 AM EST (10:23:423 UTC) on Monday, Nov. 7 Despite one of its solar arrays failing to fully deploy, the cargo vehicle successfully arrived at the ISS for berthing two [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1871,2304,639,7878,717,233,190,554,4255],"class_list":["post-24444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-antares","tag-crs","tag-cygnus","tag-firefly","tag-international-space-station","tag-iss","tag-nasa","tag-northrop-grumman","tag-wallops"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24444"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24444\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}