What’s the biggest rocket out there? Photo: Bill Ingalls/NASA (Getty Images)
I don’t know if you know this, but space is really freaking big. So to get there, we need to turn to some pretty enormous machines. The rockets that shoot satellites, astronauts and other craft into space can weigh hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of pounds. So, they need a pretty big engine to get off the ground.
But, what are the biggest rocket engines out there, and what the heck have they been used for? That’s a question I pondered recently while staring aimlessly into space. So, here’s the answer to that questions.
These are the 15 most powerful rocket engines of all time, each ordered by their thrust at sea level. Because, it turns out that the thrust you get in the vacuum of space is different to that on Earth. The more you know.
Northrop Grummans’s Cygnus space freighter with its cymbal-shaped UltraFlex solar arrays.Image: NASA
The Cygnus cargo spacecraft has run into some trouble on its way to the International Space Station (ISS), as one of its two solar arrays is refusing to deploy.
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft had an early launch on Monday, November 7 at 5:32 a.m. ET from Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Space Port. The expendable freighter is carrying 8,200 pounds of cargo to the ISS and is scheduled to arrive at the orbiting space station on Wednesday.
While en route, the cargo capsule experienced a slight malfunction. After separating from the Antares rocket, Cygnus only managed to deploy one of its solar arrays while the other one remained unfurled. “Northrop Grumman is gathering data on the second array deployment and is working closely with NASA,” the space agency wrote in a very short blog post on Monday.
That said, Northrop Grumman did inform NASA that Cygnus, despite having only one functioning solar array, has enough power to continue the rest of its journey and rendezvous with the ISS on Wednesday. “NASA is assessing this and the configuration required for capture and berthing,” NASA added.
The NG-18 resupply mission to the ISS is meant to deliver crew supplies, equipment, and science experiments to the orbiting station. Cygnus is part of Northrop Grumman’s commercial contract with NASA, delivering cargo resupply missions to the ISS.
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The company’s 18th Cygnus spacecraft was named the S.S. Sally Ride in honor of the first U.S. woman to go to space, a feat Ride accomplished in 1983. The cargo capsule is carrying a diverse payload that includes a 3D printer for generating human tissues, an experiment on growing plants in space, and the first satellite developed by Uganda and Zimbabwe.
We will be following the progress of the Cygnus spacecraft and provide updates as we learn more.
More: Fix to Malfunctioning Lucy Probe Good Enough to Complete Asteroid Mission, NASA Says
You’ll find the pair in the southwest sky just after sunset. Unlike the grouping between Saturn, Jupiter, and the moon this week, Venus and Antares are going to be just about on top of each other. Venus isn’t at its brightest right now, but it’s still relatively bright. If you’re looking for a hand tracking down the planet, an app like SkyView can be helpful.
It won’t be too long after this pairing that Antares will dip below the horizon for the season, not coming back into sight for months, per EarthSky.
If you look just a little further south, you’ll also be able to see Saturn, Jupiter, and the moon, which will not be as close together as they were earlier in the week. They’re easy to see because they’re some of the brightest objects in the night sky. Jupiter is currently the brightest object in the sky other than the moon. It’s a great night to be out early peering around the night sky.
WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. — A Northrop Grumman-built Cygnus cargo ship blasted off from Virginia Tuesday night (Aug. 10), carrying vital supplies for astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS).
Perched atop a two-stage Antares rocket, the uncrewed Cygnus NG-16 spacecraft — the heaviest Cygnus spacecraft yet — blasted off from Pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia at 6:01 p.m. EDT (2201 GMT) on Tuesday evening, the end of the planned five-minute window.
It was nothing but clear skies in Virginia this evening as the 139-foot-tall (43 meters) Antares rocket leaped off its launch pad. A possible wayward boat and a Helium valve issue almost thwarted today’s launch attempt, but the teams were able to work through the issues and it made for a beautiful launch.
“And we have liftoff of Antares for the NG-16 mission,” NASA’s launch director said from mission control at Wallops during a live broadcast of the launch. “The S.S. Ellison Onizuka is now on its way to the International Space Station to deliver more than 8,200 pounds of cargo,” added NASA public affairs officer Courtney Beasley, who provided live commentary from Mission Control in Houston.
Video: Antares rocket launches Cygnus NG-16 spacecraft to space station Related: Blobs in space and other cool science launching to the space station
A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket launches the Cygnus NG-16 cargo resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, on Aug. 10, 2021. (Image credit: NASA TV)
The craft is hauling more than 4 tons (3,719 kilograms) of scientific equipment and supplies for the Expedition 65 astronauts onboard the space station. It’s also packed with new hardware and other equipment for the station’s upgraded solar arrays.
“Sweet 16”
Dubbed NG-16, the mission is Northrop Grumman’s 15th operational resupply launch to the space station since 2014 and is now the fifth Antares to fly in the more capable 230+ configuration. This configuration allows for payloads to be loaded onto the spacecraft later than usual, which means more science.
“I’m really looking forward to our sweet 16 mission [on Tuesday],” Frank DeMauro, vice president and general manager for tactical space at Northrop Grumman, said during a prelaunch news conference on Monday (Aug. 9). “Northrop Grumman is happy to support NASA and our commercial partners as we continue the journey in human space exploration.”
A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket carrying the Cygnus NG-16 cargo ship stands ready to launch toward the International Space Station from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia on Aug. 10, 2021. (Image credit: Terry Zaperach/NASA)
The rocket’s first stage is powered by two Russian-made RD-181 engines which are fueled by rocket-grade kerosene, enabling them to produce 864,000 pounds of thrust at liftoff. The first stage separated from the rocket’s upper stage just over three minutes into flight.
Shortly after, the payload fairing jettisoned, leaving the Cygnus exposed to space. Powered by a solid-fueled upper stage, the Cygnus was deposited in its preliminary orbit and ready to begin its journey to the space station. The cargo craft will spend two days chasing down the orbital outpost before berthing to the station with the help of a robotic arm.
NASA astronaut Megan McArthur will capture the vessel on Thursday (Aug. 12) at about 6:10 a.m. EDT (1010 GMT), with ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet serving as backup. The craft will remain at the station for approximately three months, after which it will detach itself and burn up upon reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere.
Honoring the past
Northrop Grumman makes both the Antares rocket and the Cygnus spacecraft, and the company has a tradition of naming its spacecraft after fallen heroes who have made a significant contribution to human spaceflight.
For this flight, the company chose to name its Cygnus cargo ship after the late astronaut Ellison Onizuka. He was NASA’s first Asian-American astronaut, and made the ultimate sacrifice as he lost his life onboard the space shuttle Challenger in 1986.
Onizuka was selected by NASA as an astronaut in 1978, following a successful career in the military as a test pilot. He was an inspiration for the Asian-American community and for those who wanted to explore new horizons.
“It’s our tradition to name each Cygnus after an individual who’s played a pivotal role in human spaceflight,” DeMauro said. “Onizuka made the ultimate sacrifice and service to further human exploration, and was a shining example to those reaching for the stars.”
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A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket launches the Cygnus NG-16 cargo resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, on Aug. 10, 2021. (Image credit: NASA TV)
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A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket launches the Cygnus NG-16 cargo resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, on Aug. 10, 2021. (Image credit: NASA TV)
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A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket launches the Cygnus NG-16 cargo resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, on Aug. 10, 2021. (Image credit: NASA TV)
Special delivery
Tucked inside the Cygnus is a bevy of time-sensitive cargo items, including biological payloads and even a brainless blob known as a slime mold. Researchers will test how the unique organism, which can move, communicate and even feed itself without a brain.
NASA is also sending two different payloads that will look at human muscle cells in space. One of those, called Cardinal muscle, will aim to develop treatments for a muscle-wasting disease known as sarcopenia. This disease accounts for approximately 30% of the loss of skeletal muscle here on Earth.
By growing muscle fibers in space, the team from Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Research, which is led by Ngan Huang of Stanford University, will determine if these muscle fibers can be used to test effective treatments.
The other muscle-related experiment is through a partnership with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). This experiment, called the anti-atrophy research investigation, will look at muscle cells and treatments, specifically an atrophy inhibitor called C-14 sequin and a muscle growth accelerator called celestial.
These two treatments will be applied to muscle fibers grown on the space station to see how effective they are in microgravity.
Blobs in space
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“Blob” is an educational experiment ran by France’s space agency CNES. Students aged between 10 and 18 years are invited to investigate the Blob, a naturally-occurring slime mold, or Physarum polycephalum. (Image credit: A. Dussutour/CNRS)
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“Blob” is an educational experiment ran by France’s space agency CNES. Students aged between 10 and 18 years are invited to investigate the Blob, a naturally-occurring slime mold, or Physarum polycephalum. (Image credit: A. Dussutour/CNRS)
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The naturally-occurring slime mold Physarum polycephalum is a single-cell organism that can move, feed, organize itself, and transmit knowledge to other slime molds. (Image credit: A. Dussutour/CNRS)
Slime molds are single-celled organisms, much like amoebas, but are known for their rapid growth rate. Easily grown in a lab, slime molds can double in size every day and easily span several meters. Resembling a brightly colored patch of mildew, the researchers will study how the slime molds behave in space.
“We study slime molds for their plasticity, which is exceptional for a single-celled organism,” explains Audrey Dussutour, senior researcher at the Research Centre on Animal Cognition (CRCA) said in a statement. “They can learn and remember, pass on information to their fellow creatures and find their way through a maze, in the same manner as animals that appear to be more sophisticated.”
The experiment, run by ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, will also be used as a way to encourage children around Europe to be interested in biological sciences.
Related: Slime mold models help astronomers map filaments of the cosmic web
Preparing for the future
A technician checks out the Four Bed CO2 Scrubber at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. (Image credit: NASA MSFC)
Also on board the Cygnus will be a new carbon dioxide scrubber. The hardware will help ensure the crew has breathable air while testing out new technologies for future space missions.
The current system works by removing water vapor and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere inside the space station. The water vapor is collected and cycled through the system before being returned back to the cabin. Simultaneously, the carbon dioxide is either diverted to a reduction system, where it will be converted into water, or it is expelled from the spacecraft.
It’s a system that’s been in place for nearly 20 years. So why is NASA sending a new one?
NASA is upgrading various systems on the orbital outpost to not only prolong the life of the space station but also to make sure it has what it takes to keep astronauts healthy on long-duration missions. The agency wants to go back to the moon and on to Mars one day and this is the system that’s going to make sure crews on spacecraft and space stations of the future stay healthy.
The hardware designers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama have worked to make sure that this new system will be more durable and have less failures. It will be tested for one year while samples collected for its carbon dioxide beds will be sent back to Earth for analysis.
If all goes as planned, the hardware will undergo more extensive testing before being integrated into future spacecraft.
A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket carrying the Cygnus NG-16 resupply spacecraft arrives at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad-0A, on Aug. 6, 2021, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. (Image credit: Brian Bonsteel/NASA)
Space construction
NASA is heading back to the moon sometime later this decade. Astronauts visiting the lunar surface will eventually need to build things like habitats and other infrastructure. But it’s not really feasible for crewed missions to haul construction equipment to the moon.
Instead, the agency put a call out to see how we might take materials already on the lunar surface and turn those into durable habitats.
Made in Space has the answer: 3D print what you need. The company, now called Redwire, sent the first 3D printer into orbit five years ago.
Michael Snyder, chief technology officer at Redwire, told Space.com that the printer is getting some upgrades. The company loaded hardware and 3D-printing ingredients into the Cygnus, including a simulated lunar regolith called JSC-1A. Once installed at the orbiting laboratory it will print three different slabs of regolith that will eventually be returned to Earth for analysis.
This image shows the Additive Manufacturing Facility used for the Redwire Regolith Print investigation. (Image credit: Redwire)
The new printer head, which is roughly the size of a loaf of bread, will be installed on the current printer. Regolith feedstock and a binding agent will then be used to heat, bind and squeeze the simulant into slabs. This process has been tested extensively here on the ground, but never in space. Synder and his team of Redwire engineers want to make sure the process runs the same way in microgravity.
If everything goes as planned, this type of technology could be scaled up in the future to make durable habitats, landing pads and even roads on other worlds.
According to Snyder, the print job will take minimal crew time. They will install the new components into the printer and then walk away while crews on the ground will operate the printer. The whole process for each print job takes approximately two to three hours.
“They basically set it and forget it, so to speak,” Snyder told Space.com. “On station, the crew’s time is really valuable so we really want them to be hands-off as much as possible.”
Microgravity poses its own unique challenges: Stuff floats because hot air doesn’t rise as it does on Earth. This is why the ISS is the best lab around. Once all three samples are printed, they will be packed up to return to Earth on a later mission.
Snyder says the team back on Earth will perform destructive tests on the slabs and if analysis shows that the print job is comparable to its terrestrial counterparts, the process will likely work on the moon or Mars. (For comparison, the gravity is six times weaker on the moon than it is on Earth, and Mars’ gravity is about three times weaker than Earth’s.)
Components of a reentry capsule for the KREPE experiment. (Image credit: Alexandre Martin Lab/University of Kentucky)
Researchers from the University of Kentucky are also testing out new thermal protection materials, or TPS. As part of an investigation called the Kentucky Re-Entry Probe Experiment (KREPE), three different capsules each carrying different materials will blast off to the ISS, then go out in a blaze of glory when Cygnus departs the stations for a fiery return to Earth.
The materials are designed to withstand the searing heat of reentry while the Cygnus capsule is not. As the craft plummets through the atmosphere, the special capsules will release from the spacecraft and splash down in the Atlantic Ocean.
Researchers say they will not recover the capsules but will recover loads of data collected by a suite of onboard sensors in each one. They’ll analyze the data collected and determine how efficient each material was.
Cygnus will remain attached to the space station until sometime in November.
Follow Amy Thompson on Twitter @astrogingersnap. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
A mobile clean room, seen here Monday, attached to the nose cone of Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket allowed ground teams to load time-sensitive cargo into a Cygnus supply ship before its launch to the International Space Station. Credit: Alex Polimeni / Spaceflight Now
Northrop Grumman packed last-minute cargo into a commercial Cygnus supply ship Monday on a launch pad in Virginia, putting the finishing touches on a spacecraft set for liftoff Tuesday atop an Antares rocket on a mission to the International Space Station.
The automated cargo freighter, named the “S.S. Ellison Onizuka” after one of the astronauts who died in the space shuttle Challenger accident, is loaded with 8,210 pounds (3,723 kilograms) of supplies and experiments.
The Cygnus supply ship is set to blast off from pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia, at 5:56:05 p.m. EDT (2156:05 GMT) Tuesday, the opening of a five-minute launch window to send the cargo mission in pursuit of the space station.
A 139-foot-tall (42.5-meter) Antares rocket will propel the Cygnus spacecraft into orbit. The two-stage rocket rolled out of Northrop Grumman’s Horizontal Integration Facility on Friday for the one-mile trip to pad 0A.
Ground crews raised the rocket vertical on the launch pad for checkouts over the weekend, then lowered the Antares horizontal again to begin the process of loading time-sensitive cargo into the Cygnus spacecraft.
Once a mobile clean room moved into place, technicians removed the “pop top” nose cone from the Antares rocket and opened the Cygnus hatch. The final cargo items to be loaded into the Cygnus spacecraft included biological experiments and fresh food for the space station’s seven-person crew.
By early Tuesday, the late cargo load should be complete, allowing teams to close the Cygnus hatch and re-install the upper part of the rocket’s payload fairing. The rocket is scheduled to be lifted vertical again around 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT) Tuesday.
The five-hour countdown will begin shortly before 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT), beginning with power-up of the Antares flight computer and testing of the rocket’s telemetry transmitters and navigation system. Loading of kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants into the Antares first stage will begin about an hour-and-a-half before liftoff.
There’s an 80 percent chance of good weather Tuesday for launch of the Antares rocket from Virginia Eastern Shore.
The Northrop Grumman resupply mission, named NG-16, will be the 16th cargo delivery to the space station by a Cygnus supply ship since 2013. It will be the 15th launch of an Antares rocket, which has suffered one failure on its prior 14 missions.
The first stage’s two Russian-made RD-181 main engines will roar to life 3.7 seconds before liftoff. After the engines throttle up to full power, hold-down bolts will release to allow the Antares to begin its climb into space.
The RD-181 engines will produce about 864,000 pounds of thrust to steer the rocket on a course southeast from Wallops.
At about T+plus 3 minutes, 24 seconds, the Antares will shed its liquid-fueled first stage, followed soon after by separation of the rocket’s payload fairing and interstage adapter. A solid-fueled Castor 30XL upper stage will ignite at about T+plus 4 minutes, 7 seconds, for nearly three minutes to inject the Cygnus supply ship into a preliminary orbit in pursuit of the space station. The Cygnus cargo craft is scheduled to deploy from the Antares second stage at about T+plus 8 minutes, 52 seconds.
The Cygnus will unfurl its two fan-shaped solar panels within a couple of hours after liftoff, allowing the spacecraft to start charging batteries for the day-and-a-half trip to the space station. Astronaut Megan McArthur aboard the research complex will use the Canadian-built robotic arm to capture the commercial resupply vessel around 6:10 a.m. EDT (1010 GMT) Thursday, assuming an on-time launch Tuesday.
Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket on pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. Credit: NASA
NASA has multibillion-dollar contracts with Northrop Grumman, SpaceX, and Sierra Nevada Corp. to ferry cargo to and from the space station. Northrop Grumman’s two resupply contracts covers 19 operational cargo missions through 2023.
The cargo launching aboard the Cygnus spacecraft includes a technology demonstration to look at how future space explorers could 3D-print materials out of lunar soil.
The 3D printing demonstration, developed by Redwire, will use a “lunar regolith simulant” with physical properties and chemical composition similar to that of the moon’s soil, said Howie Schulman, the project lead for the Redwire Regolith Print mission.
The simulant is a fine gray powder, which will be combined with a thermoplastic binder to create the feedstock for the 3D printing experiment.
The experiment, developed in partnership with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, will use Redwire’s commercially-operated Additive Manufacturing Facility on the space station. Redwire says it’s the first time that material designed to mimic lunar soil has been used for the 3D printing in space.
Hardware launching on the NG-16 mission for the 3D printing demonstration includes three custom-designed printing heads and three print bed surfaces, according to Redwire.
The material samples printed during the tech demo will be returned to Earth for analysis.
NASA and commercial companies are interested in 3D printing technology that could help manufacture components and infrastructure on the surface of the moon. Future lunar explorers could manufacture their own hardware instead of bringing materials from Earth, or relying on costly cargo shipments.
The NG-16 mission will also deliver spare parts for the space station’s toilet, a stowage rack for the lab’s airlock, and cooling fans for the station’s life support system.
The Cygnus spacecraft is also set to deliver a “mod kit” to configure the space station’s solar power truss for the arrival of the next pair of new roll-out solar arrays in late 2022. The first two new solar arrays were delivered to the station in June by a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule, beginning an upgrade that will expand the lab’s power generation capability for another decade of operations.
Astronauts will install the “mod kit” on the station’s huge power truss ahead of the arrival of the next two roll-out solar arrays.
Other payloads set for launch Tuesday include a biomedical research investigation looking at muscle loss in microgravity, and an experiment to test a more efficient thermal control system that could be used to dissipate heat on future spacecraft.
The Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled to remain berthed at the space station for about three months.
After departing the research complex in November, the Cygnus cargo craft will head for a destructive re-entry over the South Pacific Ocean, disposing of several tons of trash packed inside its pressurized compartment by space station astronauts.
One of the final experiments of the mission will be a test of heat shield technology using three small capsules stowed inside the Cygnus spacecraft.
When the Cygnus breaks apart during re-entry, the capsules will plunge deeper into the atmosphere protected by heat shields made of different types of materials.
Led by engineers at the University of Kentucky, the experiment will collect data from sensors embedded in each capsule’s heat shield. The measurements will be transmitted back to the science team via the Iridium satellite network.
The developers of the re-entry experiment say the data will help validate computer models used in spacecraft design.
A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket lifts off Saturday from the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Credit: NASA/Patrick Black
An Antares launcher rocketed into orbit Saturday from the Eastern Shore of Virginia, deploying a Northrop Grumman Cygnus supply ship carrying nearly 8,400 pounds of cargo to the International Space Station, the the most massive collection of payloads ever flown to the research outpost on a U.S. commercial freighter.
The Antares rocket lit its two Russian-made RD-181 engines and took off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Virginia, at 12:36:50 p.m. EST (1736:50 GMT) Saturday. The on-time launch was the 14th flight by an Antares rocket and the 16th mission by a Cygnus cargo ship, which Northrop Grumman named the S.S. Katherine Johnson after the trailblazing NASA mathematician portrayed in “Hidden Figures.”
Burning a mix of kerosene and liquid oxygen, the RD-181 engines steered the 139-foot-tall (42.5-meter) Antares rocket over the Atlantic Ocean on a trajectory to line up with the orbit of the space station. Between three and four minutes after liftoff, the Antares shed its first stage and payload shroud, giving way to the rocket’s solid-fueled Castor 30XL upper stage to complete a nearly three-minute burn to enter orbit.
The 17,723-pound (8,039-kilogram) Cygnus cargo ship separated from the Antares rocket nearly nine minutes into the mission, ready for its nearly two-day pursuit of the space station.
The Cygnus was scheduled to unfurl its two fan-shaped solar arrays to begin generating electricity a couple of hours after launch. A series of thruster firings will position the cargo freighter near the space station early Monday for a final approach, culminating in capture of the Cygnus with the space station’s robotic arm around 4:40 a.m. EST (0940 GMT).
Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi will operate the station’s Canadian-built robotic arm to grapple the Cygnus cargo craft. The space station soared more than 250 miles, or 400 kilometers, over the Wallops launch base minutes before liftoff of the Antares rocket, and Noguchi tweeted a spectacular photo of Virginia’s Eastern Shore, showing the region covered by scattered clouds, and a blanket of snow to the west.
Hey, #Virginia! #ISS just flew over you!!! Waiting #Cygnus NG-15 launch in 10 minutes!!!! シグナス宇宙船打ち上げが迫るバージニア州を通過！ pic.twitter.com/cQqyfrZSBM
— NOGUCHI, Soichi 野口 聡－（のぐち そういち） (@Astro_Soichi) February 20, 2021
Northrop Grumman names its Cygnus supply ships after pioneers in spaceflight. The Cygnus flying on the NG-15 mission is named for Katherine Johnson, a mathematician whose trajectory calculations were critical to the success of NASA’s earliest space missions.
“It’s our tradition to name each Cygnus after an individual who’s played a pivotal role in human spaceflight, and Mrs. Johnson was selected for her hand-written calculations that helped launch the first Americans into space, as well as her accomplishments in breaking glass ceiling after glass ceiling as a Black woman,” said Frank DeMauro, vice president and general manager for tactical space at Northrop Grumman.
The NG-15 mission’s cargo load adds up to 8,399 pounds, or 3,810 kilograms, including packaging and unpressurized equipment to assist in the deployment of several CubeSats at the end of the flight. That’s more than any previous commercial cargo mission to the space station.
NASA has contracts with Northrop Grumman, SpaceX, and Sierra Nevada Corp. for resupply flights to the station. SpaceX has launched 21 operational Dragon cargo missions to date, and the record cargo payload for a Dragon capsule is 6,913 pounds, or 3,136 kilograms, on a mission launched April 2016.
While SpaceX’s Dragon brings cargo back to Earth, the Cygnus is a single-use spacecraft, and it carries away trash from the space station at the end of its mission before burning up in the atmosphere.
Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser spaceplane has not flown in space yet. Its first cargo mission to the space station is scheduled for 2022.
Here is a breakdown of the cargo on the NG-15 mission:
A few minutes after releasing the Cygnus spacecraft to fly to the space station, the Antares rocket was expected to deploy 30 tiny student-built “ThinSats” from containers on the second stage. Each ThinSat is about the size of a slice of bread, and were integrated with sensors, transmitters, and circuit boards by students ranging in age from 4th grade to college from 13 states and the District of Columbia.
The ThinSat program is a partnership between the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, which runs the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, Northrop Grumman, Twiggs Space Lab, NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, and NearSpace Labs. The program is aimed at promoting education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, or STEM, fields.
The first 63 ThinSats launched on an Antares rocket in 2019. By releasing the tiny satellites in a low-altitude orbit, engineers can ensure the ThinSats naturally re-enter the atmosphere and burn up within a few days, minimizing their risk of becoming space junk.
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station will enter the Cygnus spacecraft within hours of its arrival Monday. They will unpack the experiments and supplies inside the cargo craft’s pressurized compartment, built by Thales Alenia Space in Italy.
A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket takes off from pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at 12:36 p.m. EST (1736 GMT) Saturday. Credit: Alex Polimeni / Spaceflight Now
The Cygnus will deliver a brine processor assembly for the space station’s water recycling system, which converts urine into fresh drinking water. NASA says the new brine processor will demonstrate an ability to recover more water from urine brine than feasible with current space station equipment, helping close the gap to meet requirements for long-duration human exploration missions to the moon and Mars.
The brine processor works by using special membranes to separate contaminants from the brine and allow water vapor to pass into the cabin atmosphere, where a condensing heat exchanger captures and delivers it to the station system that generates fresh water.
“Long-duration crewed exploration missions require about 98% water recovery, and there is currently no state-of- the-art technology in brine processing that can help achieve this goal,” NASA officials wrote in a fact sheet. “This brine processor system plans to close this gap for the urine waste stream of the space station.”
The Cygnus mission is also carrying a new sleeping quarters for the space station’s seven-person crew. There are currently five crew members on the space station’s U.S. segment, with four astronauts who flew to the outpost on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule in November, and astronaut Kate Rubins, who arrived in October on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
But the U.S. segment only has four sleep stations. Astronaut Mike Hopkins, commander of the Crew Dragon mission, has slept inside the SpaceX capsule docked to the space station.
Other hardware inside the Cygnus supply ship includes spare parts and support equipment for the space station’s toilets, and tanks of air to recharge the breathable atmosphere inside the space lab.
One of the research experiments on the NG-15 mission will investigate how microgravity affects the manufacturing of protein-based artificial retinas. Led by a Connecticut-based startup company named LambdaVision, the experiment is a follow-up to an investigation flown to the space station in 2018 that produced “very encouraging” results, according to Nicole Wagner, president and CEO of LambdaVision.
The company uses a “layer-by-layer” process to manufacture artificial retinas, which could be implanted in patients suffering from retinal degenerative diseases.
“This is the second of what we expect to be many, many flights (to the space station),” said Jordan Greco, chief scientific officer at LambdaVision. “This particular layering trial allows allow us to continue to gather critical information on the design of the system and to continue to probe the influence of microgravity on this layering process.”
“The work that we’re sending on NG-15 is we’re sending the protein materials, and we’re actually going to manufacture the artificial retina on the ISS. So we’re doing this layer by layer process on-board the International Space Station, and then those films will then be returned back to Earth for analysis,” Wagner said.
With funding support from NASA, LambdaVision is looking at extending the layer-by-layer manufacturing process to other applications besides artificial retinas, Wagner said.
The retina implants being developed by LambdaVision can restore “high-resolution vision” to patients by replacing the function of light-sensing rods and cones inside the eye, according to Wagner. The artificial retinas consist of a light-activated protein.
“We are just thrilled to have a chance to establish a foundation for producing products in low Earth orbit with true clinical benefits to patients, and in our casem for patients that are blinded by this devastating retinal degenerative disease,” Greco said.
The mission patch for Northrop Grumman’s NG-15 mission. Credit: Northrop Grumman
Another experiment on the NG-15 mission will measure muscle strength in multiple generations of worms, including animals reared in space. Humans lose strength during long-duration space missions, but scientists want to better understand the biological changes caused by microgravity.
“To understand the biology, our project is focused on taking these … worms and looking at how the strength of these worms is changing,” said Siva Vanapalli, a professor of chemical engineering at Texas Tech University, and principal investigator of the experiment.
The experiment launched with 1,000 worm larvae that will grow during the mission. The worms will produce offspring several times in space, according to Vanapalli.
A new device, called NemaFlex, will measure the worms’ muscle forces continuously. “If we do observe that our device is able to record these changes in strength, that opens up tremendous opportunities in conducting experiments on different drugs and figuring out how to maintain and improve the health of astronauts,” Vanapalli said.
The Cygnus will deliver to the space station a high-performance commercial off-the-shelf computer from Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Engineers will test the computer’s ability to process scientific data in space, potentially enabling researchers to produce quicker results from their experiments, according to NASA.
The cargo mission also carries a radiation detector that will fly on NASA’s Orion spacecraft. A successful test of the radiation monitor on the space station would validate the unit to fly on the first crewed Orion mission, Artemis 2, to the moon in 2023, NASA said.
Several small nanosatellites are stowed aboard the Cygnus cargo craft for release into orbit in the coming months.
The Gunsmoke-J technology demonstration satellite is a 3U CubeSat for the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, which aims to prove the usefulness of an Earth-imaging payload for tactical use by military combat troops.
“This science and technology effort will provide new and advanced capabilities to the tactical warfighters in a small satellite that is about the size of a loaf of bread,” the Army said in a press release last year. “The effort will also help inform future acquisition decisions.”
The Gunsmoke-J satellite and two other small satellites for unspecified U.S. government customers launched inside the Cygnus spacecraft’s pressurized module. Before the craft departs the International Space Station later this year, astronauts will place the satellites on rail deployer on the Cygnus hatch for separation after the freighter leaves the complex.
Spaceflight, the Seattle-based rideshare launch broker, arranged launch services for the Gunsmoke-J and the two other U.S. government satellites.
Several other CubeSats are also aboard the Cygnus cargo freighter. One is named IT-SPINS, and it will collect images of the ionosphere over the night side of the Earth during a six-month research mission. The IT-SPINS CubeSat, about the size of a toaster oven, was developed at Montana State University.
A CubeSat named DhabiSat was developed by students at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi. Students developed the CubeSat with help from Yahsat, a communications satellite company in Abu Dhabi, and Northrop Grumman.
Paraguay’s first satellite, a CubeSat known as GuaraniSat 1, also launched Saturday. Paraguay’s space agency says the CubeSat was developed in partnership with engineers in Japan and universities and research centers in Paraguay.
WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. — A Northrop Grumman-built Cygnus cargo ship lifted off from Virginia on Saturday (Feb. 20), carrying vital supplies for astronauts on the International Space Station.
Perched atop a two-stage Antares rocket, the uncrewed Cygnus NG-15 spacecraft blasted off from Pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility here at 12:36 p.m. EDT (1736 GMT).
The craft is hauling more than 8,200 lbs. (3,719 kilograms) of cargo that include scientific equipment, fresh food and supplies for the seven astronauts on board the space station. It’s also packed with new hardware and spacewalk equipment.
The 139-foot-tall (42.5-meter) Antares rocket lifted off right on time, at the beginning of a planned 5-minute window. It’s Cygnus NG-15 cargo ship is named after Katherine Johnson, the trailblazing NASA mathematician who helped make John Glenn’s historic orbital flight — the first by an American astronaut — possible. Now, 59 years later, the S.S. Katherine Johnson embarks on her own flight to space on the 59th anniversary of Glenn’s Friendship 7 Mercury flight.
Video: Watch the Antares rocket launch of Cygnus NG-15! Related: Private Antares rocket & Cygnus explained (infographic)
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A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket carrying the uncrewed Cygnus NG-15 cargo ship launches from Pad 0A of NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia on Feb. 20, 2021. (Image credit: NASA TV)
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The Cygnus NG-15 cargo ship is carrying 8,200 lbs. (3,719 kilograms) of supplies to the International Space Station for NASA. (Image credit: NASA TV)
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It will take about two days for the Cygnus NG-15 cargo ship to reach the space station. (Image credit: NASA TV)
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The Cygnus NG-15 cargo ship will arrive at the International Space Station on Monday, Feb. 22, at 4:40 a.m. EST (0940 GMT). (Image credit: NASA TV)
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The NG-15 mission is Northrop Grumman’s 15th operational resupply launch to the space station since 2014 and marked the 4th Antares to fly in the 230+ configuration.
The rocket’s first stage is powered by two Russian-made RD-181 engines fueled by rocket-grade kerosene, producing 864,000 pounds of thrust at liftoff. The first stage separated from the rocket’s upper stage just over three minutes into flight.
Shortly after, the payload fairing jettisoned, leaving the Cygnus exposed to space. Powered by a solid-fueled upper stage, the Cygnus was deposited in its preliminary orbit and ready to begin its journey to the space station. The cargo craft will spend two days chasing down the orbital outpost before berthing to the station with the help of a robotic arm.
Astronaut Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will capture the vessel on Monday (Feb. 22) at about 4:40 a.m. EST (0940 GMT), with NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins serving as backup. The craft will remain at the station for approximately three months, after which it will detach itself and burn up upon reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere.
Hidden figures
Northrop Grumman makes both the Antares rocket and the Cygnus spacecraft. The company has a tradition of naming its spacecraft after fallen heroes who have made a significant contribution to human spaceflight.
In this case, the company is choosing to honor the late Katherine Johnson, who died at the age of 101 nearly a year ago on Feb. 24, 2020. Johnson worked as a human computer whose trajectory calculations were critical to NASA’s early success with human spaceflight, in particular Glenn’s orbital flight.
“It’s our tradition to name each Cygnus after an individual who’s played a pivotal role in human spaceflight, and Mrs. Johnson was selected for her hand-written calculations that helped launch the first Americans into space, as well as her accomplishments in breaking glass ceiling after glass ceiling as a Black woman,” said Frank DeMauro, vice president and general manager for tactical space at Northrop Grumman said on Friday (Feb. 19).
Years after her retirement, Johnson’s work was highlighted in the book “Hidden Figures,” and later the movie of the same name starring Taraji P. Hensen as Johnson. Johnson received a congressional medal of freedom and the congressional gold medal from President Barack Obama for her work at NASA.
Related: NASA facility dedicated to mathematician Katherine Johnson
Mathematician Katherine Johnson at work at NASA’s Langley Research Center in 1980. (Image credit: Bob Nye/NASA)
Special delivery
Tucked inside the Cygnus is a bevy of time-sensitive cargo items, including a supply of fresh food for the astronauts on the space station. During a prelaunch briefing on Friday, NASA officials said they were sending up some treats for the crew members of Expedition 64, including salmon, hard salami, parmesan cheese, caramel hard candies and other perishable items.
“We want to keep the crew happy, because a happy crew is a productive crew for science,” David Brady, associate program scientist for the International Space Station, said prior to launch.
Also inside the Cygnus is a brine processor assembly for the space station’s water recycling system, which converts urine into fresh drinking water. NASA says the new processor will enable more water to be recovered from urine than with the current equipment on station. The agency says this is a key piece of hardware to help meet the requirements for future long-duration missions to the moon and eventually Mars.
“Long-duration crewed exploration missions require about 98% water recovery, and there is currently no state-of- the-art technology in brine processing that can help achieve this goal,” NASA officials wrote in a fact sheet. “This brine processor system plans to close this gap for the urine waste stream of the space station.”
The equipment works by using special membranes to separate contaminants from the brine, allowing water vapor to flow into the cabin atmosphere, where a condenser will capture it and filter it into the station’s water system.
Also onboard the Cygnus will be a new sleeping pod for the Expedition 64 crew. Currently there are five astronauts in the U.S. segment — four Crew-1 astronauts who launched in November on board a SpaceX Crew Dragon, and Kate Rubins who flew on a Soyuz last October — with only four sleep stations. Hopkins, the Crew Dragon commander, has been sleeping in the capsule since launching in November. Three Russian cosmonauts round out the station’s crew.
Cygnus also is ferrying spare parts and equipment for the space station’s toilets, and equipment for upcoming spacewalks.
Weird science
Northrop Grumman’s NG-15 Cygnus cargo ship seen during launch preparations. (Image credit: Northrop Grumman)
The bevy of research experiments brought up on the NG-15 mission will researchers to better understand how microgravity affects the human body as well as manufacturing processes. One investigation will look at the construction of protein-based artificial retinas on station.
Designed by LambdaVision, the experiment will use a layer-by-layer process to manufacture artificial retinas in space. The hope is that the “retina” can then be implanted into the eye of a patient suffering from degenerative retinal diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa or macular degeneration.
One high-tech experiment aboard is the Spaceborne Computer-2, a collaboration by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and Microsoft to bring cloud computing and artificial intelligence technology to the International Space Station. Microsoft will link its Azure Space Platform to the computer to “deliver edge computing and [artificial intelligence] capabilities” to the station, according to HPE.
Another experiment will measure muscle strength in multiple generations of worms, to better understand the biological changes that happen during spaceflight. Led by Siva Vanapalli, the experiment will look at how the muscle strength in worms changes overtime during spaceflight.
About 1,000 worm larvae are en route to the space station, tucked inside the Cygnus as part of the Micro-16 investigation. Once on station, the worms will produce many offspring during their trip, allowing researchers to look at multiple generations. They’re also sending a device called NemaFlex, which is designed to measure how much force the worms exert.
Vanapalli is hoping that the device will enable the team to measure changes in the worm’s strength which can be beneficial to drug development as well as help researchers improve astronaut health.
Also on board the Cygnus are several student experiments including the Magnitude.io experiment that will help engage students in STEM projects with the help of bitmoji stickers. The experiment, called ExoLab 8, is Magnitude.io’s eighth investigation sent to the space station.
Mission participants (which will include students from Kindergarten through college level) will attempt to grow red clover plants at home and in their classrooms to act as a ground control experiment, and compare growth rates to similar plants grown in space.
Online activities will be led by an Astro_moji teacher — Linwood Elementary Technology teacher, Lisa Turney. Her likeness will be turned into a bitmoji who will teach students from space via her bitmoji avatar. The experiment will rely on a SpaceTango CubeLab that will facilitate plant growth.
“We are taking distance learning to a whole new level: 250 miles above the Earth to an orbital classroom,” Magnitude.io CEO Ted Tagami wrote in a news release. “While the pandemic disrupted many learning experiences, our mission participants will remember 2021 as the year they went to space.”
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