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Business

Space Development Agency awards $1.5 billion to Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman for 72 satellites – SpaceNews

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  1. Space Development Agency awards $1.5 billion to Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman for 72 satellites SpaceNews
  2. Pentagon space arm awards $1.5 billion contract to Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman for communications satellites CNBC
  3. Northrop Grumman Selected to Build Tranche 2 Transport Layer-Beta Data Transport Satellites | Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Newsroom
  4. Northrop, Lockheed win combined $1.5B for SDA low Earth orbit data network Breaking Defense
  5. Space Development Agency awards $1.5 billion for transport satellites C4ISRNET
  6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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US

B-21 bomber unveiled by Northrop Grumman in California

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PALMDALE, Calif. — The Pentagon and defense contractor Northrop Grumman unveiled the U.S. military’s bomber of the future on Friday, showcasing an aircraft cloaked in secrecy for years and set to serve as a backbone of Air Force combat operations for decades to come.

The B-21 Raider, with a distinctive batwing shape, was pulled forward out of a hangar here while awash in blue light as cinematic music played and Northrop Grumman employees cheered. The ceremony was held at the company’s facility at Air Force Plant 42, a heavily guarded, government-owned manufacturing facility north of Los Angeles, where some of the military’s most highly classified work occurs.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, speaking in front of the hangar, said that the plane is proof of the Defense Department’s long-term commitment to building advanced capabilities that “will fortify America’s ability to deter aggression, today and into the future.” The stealthy plane, he said, has “50 years of advances in low-observable technology” built in, making it difficult for “even the most sophisticated air-defense systems” to detect a B-21 in the sky.

“The B-21 looks imposing,” Austin said. “But what’s under the frame and the space-age coatings is even more impressive.”

Austin added that U.S. defense is rooted in deterrence, and the development of the B-21 again serves as a symbol.

“We are again making it plain to any potential foe: The risks and costs of aggression far outweigh any conceivable gains,” Austin said.

The program is expected to cost at least $80 billion, with the Air Force seeking at least 100 planes. It marks the U.S. military’s first aircraft with so called sixth-generation technology, relying on advanced artificial intelligence, computer networking and data fusion to assist pilots as they carry out long-range bombing missions requiring them to slip in and out of enemy airspace. The Air Force also is exploring whether the B-21 could be flown remotely, though that would likely occur years after it first takes flight.

Much of the program remains classified, even as senior U.S. defense officials and company executives celebrated its progress. Media attending the event here in Palmdale were required to follow a slew of ground rules, including a ban on cellphones within the viewing area and, for visual journalists, restrictions on how the aircraft could be photographed.

There are six prototypes of the B-21, company officials said. A first test flight is expected next year.

For now, the Raider is in a “ground test” phase, with officials from the Air Force and Northrop Grumman conducting stress tests, evaluating the application of its radar-deflecting paint, and scrutinizing basic functions such as taxiing, Northrop Grumman officials said.

More than 8,000 people are working on aspects of the program, with aircraft parts coming from 40 states.

The Pentagon intends for the Raider to replace aging B-2 Spirit and B-1B Lancer bombers, phasing out the older aircraft by the 2040s. B-52 bombers, many decades old, also could be replaced by the B-21 in coming years. The unveiling event Friday included flyovers by all three aging bombers.

Until 2006, the Defense Department believed it could get by with its existing fleet of bombers until 2037. But the Pentagon began researching alternatives over the next decade, launching a contract competition for a new long-range bomber in 2014.

The U.S. military has for many years encountered costly problems and delays in developing other major weapons systems, including the advanced F-35 fighter likely to be teamed with the B-21 in future operations.

Air Force and company officials said in a panel discussion with reporters on Friday that the program continues to meet service requirements for cost, though the cost per copy has continued to rise. In 2010, the service said it hoped each plane would cost about $550 million. By 2019, the price had risen to $639 million, according to a Congressional Research Service report released last year, and the cost is expected to continue climbing.

Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown, chief of staff of the Air Force, told reporters in Palmdale that the development of the B-21 has been a product of collaboration between the service and Northrop Grumman. He noted that the plane’s Raider nickname is a nod to the Doolittle Raiders, U.S. service members who launched a long, daring bombing raid into Japan in April 1942, just months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii drew the United States into World War II.

“That innovative spirit is sitting behind us right now,” Brown said, speaking in the hangar before the unveiling event as the B-21 sat under a cloak.

Kathy Warden, chief executive of Northrop Grumman, said Friday that the company iterated on thousands of versions of the plane before selecting a design. Some of its testing and development occurs digitally before the company builds hardware, limiting costs.

“In many ways,” Warden said, “we are taking technology from the future and bringing it to the here and now in this aircraft.”

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Science

Fire alarm on Earth delays Northrop Grumman cargo launch to space station

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A Northrop Grumman rocket carrying more than 4 tons of supplies for the International Space Station will have to wait at least one more day to launch after a fire alarm at its mission control center thwarted a liftoff early Sunday (Nov. 6). 

The Antares rocket was about 10 minutes away from a planned liftoff at 5:50 a.m. EST (1050 GMT) from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia, when Northrop Grumman called off the flight. A fire alarm at the company’s control center in nearby Dulles, Virginia, forced a building evacuation, preventing launch controllers from going through with the launch. 

“Our thoughts are with their team their their safety is at the top most important, so we are going to try it again tomorrow,” NASA spokesperson Chelsey Ballarte said during live commentary. Liftoff is now set for Monday, Nov. 6, at 5:27 a.m. EST (1027 GMT).  You can watch the Cygnus cargo launch live on Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV, beginning at 5 a.m. EST (1000 GMT). 

Northrop Grumman will use its Antares rocket to launch the uncrewed NG-18 Cygnus spacecraft to the International Space Station on a mission to deliver more than 8,200 pounds (3,720 kilograms) of supplies to the lab’s astronaut crew. It is the 18th cargo mission for NASA by Northrop Grumman. 

Related: Northrop Grumman’s Private Antares Rocket: 5 Surprising Facts

The upcoming launch is also Northrop Grumman’s heaviest delivery yet, with the company squeezing in about 44 pounds (20 kg) of additional supplies due to refinements to the launch system. Among its precious cargo are a bioprinter that will attempt to print human knee cartilage in space and cow ovarian cells to study how weightlessness affects the growth of cells. 

If all goes well, the NG-18 Cygnus cargo ship — which has been named the SS Sally Ride in honor of astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman in space who died in 2012  — should arrive at the space station on Wednesday (Nov. 10).
Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com (opens in new tab) or follow him @tariqjmalik (opens in new tab). Follow us @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab), Facebook (opens in new tab) and Instagram (opens in new tab).



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Science

Northrop Grumman Cygnus Spacecraft Launches NASA Science, Cargo to International Space Station

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An Antares rocket launch from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. Credit: Bill Ingalls / NASA

A fresh supply of 8,300 pounds of scientific investigations and cargo launched from

Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket liftoff from pad 0A at 12:40 p.m. EST from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, on February 19, 2022. The Cygnus spacecraft, carrying 8,300 pounds of science investigations and cargo, is scheduled to arrive at the space station on Monday, February 21. Credit: NASA Wallops/Allison Stancil

NASA astronauts Raja Chari and Kayla Barron will capture Cygnus with the station’s robotic Canadarm2 upon its arrival. The spacecraft will then be installed on the Earth-facing port of the station’s Unity module.

This is Northrop Grumman’s 17th contracted resupply mission under the second Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. The delivery includes critical materials to support dozens of the more than 250 science and research investigations occurring during NASA’s Expedition 66 mission aboard the space station.

The scientific investigations Cygnus is carrying include:

Protecting our skin

Deterioration of skin tissue, a normal part of aging, occurs over decades. Microgravity leads to changes in the body like aging but that occur much more quickly, so they can be more easily studied. Colgate Skin Aging will evaluate cellular and molecular changes in engineered human skin cells in microgravity. Results may help speed development of products aimed at protecting skin from the aging process on Earth.

Preparation of tissue culture plates for Colgate Skin Aging, which evaluates changes in skin cells in microgravity and could help provide a model for assessing products for protecting skin from the effects of aging. Credit: Colgate-Palmolive

Testing tumor drugs

MicroQuin 3D Tumor will examine the effects of a therapeutic on breast and prostate cancer cells. These cells can grow in a more natural 3D model in microgravity, which makes it easier to characterize their structure, gene expression, cell signaling, and response to the treatment. Results could provide new insight into the cell protein targeted by the drug and help advance development of other cancer drugs.

This image shows immunofluorescence of breast cancer cells treated with a MicroQuin therapeutic. Staining shows a normal nucleus (blue) and the therapeutic (green) localized to the cell’s endoplasmic reticulum (red). The drug forces the cytoskeleton (yellow) to collapse, inducing cell death. Credit: Scott Robinson, MicroQuin

Improving hydrogen sensors

The Advanced Hydrogen Sensor Technology Demonstration will test new sensors for the space station’s oxygen generation system. Current sensors ensure that none of the hydrogen enters the cabin oxygen but can be sensitive to moisture, nitrogen, and other issues that require them to be swapped out every 201 days. This technology could provide more durable sensors for situations where rapid replacement is not practical, reducing the number of spares needed on longer space missions such as to the Moon or

Hardware for the OGA H2 Sensor Demo shown in preparation for flight. This technology demonstration tests new sensors for detecting hydrogen in oxygen generating systems on spacecraft. Credit: NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center

Better batteries

Space Demonstration for All Solid-State Li Ion Battery (Space As-Lib), an investigation from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, will feature the operation of a lithium-ion secondary battery capable of safe, stable operation under extreme temperatures and in a vacuum environment. The battery uses solid, inorganic, and flame-retardant materials that do not leak, making it safer and more reliable. Results could demonstrate the battery’s performance for various potential uses in space and other planetary environments. Solid-state batteries also have potential applications in harsh environments and the automotive and aerospace industries.

The Space As-Lib hardware is shown undergoing thermal vacuum testing prior to launch. Credit: JAXA

Plants in space

Current systems for growing plants in space use soil or a growth medium. These systems are small and do not scale well in a space environment due to mass, containment, maintenance, and sanitation issues. To address these issues, eXposed Root On-Orbit Test System (XROOTS) will use water- and air-based methods instead, reducing overall system mass. Results could provide insight into the development of larger-scale systems to grow food crops for future space exploration and habitats. Components of the system could also enhance plant cultivation in greenhouses on Earth and contribute to better food security.

Green onion plants grown using aeroponics are held to display their roots. The XROOTS study tests hydroponic (water-based) and aeroponic (air-based) techniques to grow plants in space. Credit: Sierra Space

Improving fire safety

Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction (SoFIE) will enable studies of the flammability of materials and ignition of fires in realistic atmospheric conditions. This facility uses the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR), which allows for testing at different oxygen concentrations and pressures that represent current and planned space exploration missions. Gravity influences flames on Earth, but in microgravity, fire acts differently and can behave in unexpected ways aboard the space station. Some evidence suggests that fires may be more hazardous in reduced gravity. Results could help ensure crew safety by improving design of extravehicular activity suits, and cabin materials, improve our ability to determine the best techniques for suppressing fires in space.

Findings from these and other investigations aboard the space station will contribute to keeping astronauts healthy during long-duration space travel and demonstrate technologies for future human and robotic exploration missions as part of NASA’s Moon and Mars efforts, including lunar missions through the agency’s Artemis program.

Cygnus will also deliver critical hardware to be installed during the upcoming ISS Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA) spacewalks, as well as other components for the successful functioning of astronaut life on the space station, such as a trash deployer and acoustic covers for the waste management system.

This Cygnus mission is the first to feature enhanced capabilities that will allow the spacecraft to perform a reboost, using its engines to adjust the space station’s orbit as a standard service for NASA. The agency has one reboost is planned while Cygnus is connected to the orbiting laboratory. A test of the maneuver was performed in 2018 during Cygnus’ ninth resupply mission.

Cygnus will remain at the space station until May before it deploys CubeSats, then disposes of several thousand pounds of trash during its re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, which will result in its destruction.



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Science

Launch Day Forecast Remains 75% Favorable – Northrop Grumman Cargo Resupply Mission 17

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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.

Live launch coverage will air on NASA Television and the agency’s website, as well as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and NASA’s App, beginning at 12:15 p.m.

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.



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Science

Northrop Grumman wins NASA contract for SLS booster production

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WASHINGTON — NASA awarded a contract to Northrop Grumman Dec. 2 for the production of several pairs of Space Launch System solid rocket boosters as well as development of a new version of the booster.

The Booster Production and Operations Contract (BPOC), with a maximum value of $3.19 billion, covers production of the five-segment boosters that will be used on the Artemis 4 through Artemis 8 missions. It also includes funding for development of a new version of the boosters, called Booster Obsolescence and Life Extension (BOLE), including production of the first pair for the Artemis 9 mission.

The boosters for Artemis 4 through 8 “will carry us through the expenditure of the heritage shuttle hardware,” namely the steel cases used to house the booster segments, said Mark Tobias, SLS Deputy and BOLE Chief Engineer and Northrop Grumman Fellow, in a Dec. 3 interview.

Those boosters will be identical to those the company has built for the first three SLS launches. Besides the boosters that will help launch Artemis 1 in early 2022, the booster segments for Artemis 2 are complete and the motors for Artemis 3 cast. Tobias said he expected a “significant reduction” in the number of people needed to build the later boosters as the company shifts workers to the BOLE project, but did not give a specific number.

The BOLE boosters will replace the steel cases used now with stronger but lighter composite cases, among other changes. “The BOLE booster in general leverage significant investment the commercial side of our house has made,” he said.

Other changes include using an electronic thrust vector control system rather than one powered by hydrazine and use of a common propellant formulation. The changes are intended to both increase performance and reduce cost and complexity: eliminating hydrazine in the thrust vector control system, he said, reduces the amount of labor involved and improves safety in the process.

Development and qualification of the BOLE boosters will include five major static-fire tests, he said, the first of which is scheduled for the spring of 2024.

The BOLE boosters should improve the performance of SLS, in terms of payload placed into a translunar injection trajectory, by at least three metric tons. “It’s likely to do better on a nominal basis,” Tobias said. “The three metric tons is a worst-case prediction. On a nominal basis it could be more like five.”

The company has a long-term goal of reducing the cost of the booster by 25% to 50%. “We’ve attempted to incorporate as many cost savings as we can into the booster,” he said. “The BPOC contract represents the first significant step in achieving those cost reduction targets, and NASA has follow-on activities that they’re pursuing that will take us the rest of the way.”

NASA issued a request for information (RFI) Oct. 26 for a proposed initiative called Exploration Production and Operations Long-Term Sustainability. That would consolidate SLS production and operations into a single contract, called the Exploration Production and Operations Contract (EPOC), with NASA purchasing SLS launches as a service at a rate one crewed flight a year and possibly one or more cargo flights a year. NASA seeks “a substantial savings of 50% or more off of the current industry baseline per flight cost” under EPOC.

“We’re working to get our current multiple contracts into a single production and operations contract,” said Kathy Lueders, NASA associate administrator for space operations, at a Nov. 9 media teleconference about updates to the Artemis program. That could enable others to purchase SLS launches “and have it be a shared investment and resource from a government perspective.”

The RFI does not state what that “current industry baseline” cost of SLS per flight is. “I think we’d be really happy at some stage if we could get our launch and processing costs to between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, but we’ve got a little ways to go,” Lueders said.

The EPOC proposal is “very synergistic” with the work Northrop will be doing on its new BPOC contract, Tobias said. “Many of the changes that were put in place in the BPOC contract mesh and are highly portable with what NASA has defined in the RFI,” he said.

“We’re doing this as we march toward a really significant evolution of how NASA does business in the space arena, by moving to more commercial practices, more commercial standards and commercial technologies,” he said. “We’re on a very good path to support lunar exploration and ultimately Mars exploration.”

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Science

Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo ship departs space station to conduct experiment in orbit

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The latest Cygnus cargo ship departed the International Space Station Saturday (Nov. 20) after sending a haul of cargo to the orbiting crew.

The Northrop Grumman NG-16 resupply vessel was released from the grip of the station’s robotic arm at 11:01 a.m. EST (1601 GMT) by a command from NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston as both spacecraft sailed high over the South Pacific Ocean. The Cygnus spacecraft floated away from the International Space Station under the supervision of Matthias Maurer, an astronaut of the European Space Agency on the station’s Expedition 66 crew.

Video: Watch astronauts capture Cygnus NG-16 in orbit

Cygnus will spend several weeks in space before being directed to re-enter the atmosphere on Dec. 15. During that time, ground controllers will deploy the Kentucky Re-Entry Probe Experiment, the latest in a series of autonomous experiments that run during the last few weeks of Cygnus missions.

This new experiment will “demonstrate a thermal protection system for spacecraft and their contents during re-entry in Earth’s atmosphere, which can be difficult to replicate in ground simulations,” NASA said in a statement.

Cygnus arrived at the ISS on Aug. 12 hauling its biggest delivery yet, with four tons of stuff. The Cygnus supply ship was christened the S.S. Ellison Onizuka in honor of the first Asian American astronaut Ellison Onuzuka, who was killed along with six others in the Challenger shuttle disaster in 1986.

The spacecraft arrived with more than 8,200 lbs. (3,720 kilograms) of supplies, equipment and experiments, the biggest ever cargo delivery to the station by a Cygnus spacecraft. The delivery included new hardware, a carbon dioxide scrubber for ensuring breathable air, and equipment for the station’s upgraded solar arrays. Experiments included a slime mold (a brainless blob) and two payloads to examine human muscle cells in space.

The mission was the 15th operational resupply launch to the space station by Northrop Grumman since 2014. Earlier launches were overseen by Orbital Sciences and Orbital ATK, which Northrop Grumman later acquired. 

“The Cygnus system has evolved from being just a cargo delivery service to a high performing science platform,” said Northrop Grumman’s Steve Krein, vice president, civil and commercial space, tactical space systems, said in a statement. “We continue to develop these capabilities to include the installation of environmental control systems and other upgrades to support the lunar orbiting Habitation and Logistics Outpost, or HALO.” 

The HALO project is a habitation module for NASA’s planned Gateway space station around the moon for future Artemis astronauts. Northrop Grumman is using its experience with Cygnus to design the HALO module. 

The next U.S. cargo ship to visit the space station will be a SpaceX Cargo Dragon spacecraft, which is slated to launch in late December.

Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook. 

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World

Northrop Grumman Employees Protest Vaccine Mandate – CBS Baltimore

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HANOVER, Md. (WJZ) — Fighting for medical freedom, dozens of demonstrators lined up outside Northrop Grumman’s BWI location Monday morning with American flags in hand to protest against the company’s vaccine mandate.

“I feel mandates in general upon free citizens of this country is unconstitutional and if it starts here, when does it end?” said Michael Drodes.

READ MORE: Colin Powell, Military Leader And First Black US Secretary Of State, Dies After Complications From COVID-19

“Thought it was my body, my choice. Lets go,” said Oliva Ravadge.

This comes a week after the company said all workers need to be fully vaccinated by Dec. 8 in line with the federal vaccine mandate.

“We should not be forced to put something in our body that we don’t want to and we’re going to stand behind that,” said Ravadge.

If workers don’t get vaccinated, they could lose their jobs and that’s not sitting well with some.

READ MORE: Maryland’s Leaders & Residents React To Colin Powell’s Death

“We’re not anti-vax. We’re not anti-Northup Grumman. We’re just pro-choice,” said Garth Bonbargen.

Protestors say they just want their voices to be heard and to terminate the mandate.

“We hope that this mandate gets lifted and it turns into our choice as it should have been from the beginning,” said Ravadge. “We should not be forced, it should be our choice from the very beginning and our jobs should not be on the line because of it.”

A spokesman for Northrop Grumman’s told WJZ, “the company remains committed to continuous operations to ensure they deliver on their commitments to its customers.”

Another protest is scheduled for next Monday, Oct. 25 near the Sykesville Northrop Grumman location.

MORE NEWS: Vaccine Mandate Creates Friction Between Baltimore And Its Police & Fire Unions

 

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Science

Northrop Grumman cargo ship launches to space station with pizza, supplies

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Northrop Grumman’s latest space station delivery includes pizza for seven.

The company’s Cygnus cargo ship rocketed away from Virginia’s eastern shore Tuesday. It should reach the International Space Station on Thursday.

NASA’S PERSEVERANCE MARS ROVER RUNS INTO PUZZLING SAMPLING CONUNDRUM

The 8,200-pound (3,700-kilogram) shipment includes fresh apples, tomatoes and kiwi, along with a pizza kit and cheese smorgasbord for the seven station astronauts.

Also flying: a mounting bracket for new solar wings launching to the orbiting lab next year, a material simulating moon dust and dirt that will be used to create items from the space station’s 3D printer, slime mold for a French educational experiment called Blob and an infrared-detecting device meant as a prototype for future tracking satellites.

Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket lifts off the launch pad at the NASA Test Flight Facility Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021, in Wallops Island, Va. The rocket carries a Cygnus space vessel that will deliver supplies to the International Space Station. 
(AP Photo/Steve Helber)

It is Northrop Grumman’s 16th supply run for NASA and its biggest load yet. The company’s Antares rocket hoisted the capsule from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility.

“Aloha to the S.S. Ellison Onizuka,” Northrop Grumman said via Launch Control minutes before liftoff. The capsule was named for Hawaii’s Onizuka, the first Asian American in space who died in the 1986 Challenger launch disaster.

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NASA’s other shipper, SpaceX, will follow with a cargo run in a few weeks.

The space station is currently home to three Americans, two Russians, one French and one Japanese.

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Science

NASA Science and Cargo Launches on Northrop Grumman Resupply Mission to Space Station

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The Northrop Grumman Cygnus space freighter sits atop an Antares rocket at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Credit: NASA/Terry Zaperach

A Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply spacecraft is on its way to the International Space Station with more than 8,200 pounds of science investigations and cargo after launching at 6:01 p.m. EDT Tuesday from

In this black and white infrared image, a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket carrying a Cygnus resupply spacecraft launches from Pad-0A of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Northrop Grumman’s 16th contracted cargo resupply mission with NASA will deliver nearly 8,200 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the International Space Station and its crew. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

Cygnus is scheduled to arrive at the space station around 6:10 a.m. Thursday, August 12. NASA Television, the NASA app, and agency’s website will provide live coverage of the spacecraft’s approach and arrival beginning at 4:45 a.m.

NASA astronaut Megan McArthur will use the space station’s robotic Canadarm2 to capture Cygnus upon its arrival, while ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet monitors telemetry during rendezvous, capture, and installation on the Earth-facing port of the Unity module.

This is Northrop Grumman’s 16th cargo flight to the space station and is the fifth under its Commercial Resupply Services 2 contract with NASA. Cygnus launched on an Antares 230+ rocket from the Virginia Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad 0A at Wallops.

The resupply flight will support dozens of new and existing investigations. Included in the scientific investigations Cygnus is delivering to the space station are:

From dust to dwelling

Using resources available on the Moon and

Taking the heat out of space travel

Longer space missions will need to generate more power, producing more heat that must be dissipated. Transitioning from current single-phase heat transfer systems to two-phase thermal management systems reduces size and weight of the system and provides more efficient heat removal. Because greater heat energy is exchanged through vaporization and condensation, a two-phase system can remove more heat for the same amount of weight than current single-phase systems. The Flow Boiling and Condensation Experiment (FBCE) aims to develop a facility for collecting data about two-phase flow and heat transfer in microgravity. Comparisons of data from microgravity and Earth’s gravity are needed to validate numerical simulation tools for designing thermal management systems.

Cooler re-entries

The Kentucky Re-Entry Probe Experiment (KREPE) demonstrates an affordable thermal protection system (TPS) to protect spacecraft and their contents during re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. Making these systems efficient remains one of space exploration’s biggest challenges, but the unique environment of atmospheric entry makes it difficult to accurately replicate conditions in ground simulations. TPS designers rely on numerical models that often lack flight validation. This investigation serves as an inexpensive way to compare these models to actual flight data and validate possible designs. Before flying the technology on the space station, researchers conducted a high-altitude balloon test to validate performance of the electronics and communications.

Getting the carbon dioxide out

Four Bed CO2 Scrubber demonstrates a technology to remove carbon dioxide from a spacecraft. Based on the current system and lessons learned from its nearly 20 years of operation, the Four Bed CO2 Scrubber includes mechanical upgrades and an improved, longer-lasting absorbent material that reduces erosion and dust formation. Absorption beds remove water vapor and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, returning water vapor to the cabin and venting carbon dioxide overboard or diverting it to a system that uses it to produce water. This technology could improve the reliability and performance of carbon dioxide removal systems in future spacecraft, helping to maintain the health of crews and ensure mission success. It has potential applications on Earth in closed environments that require carbon dioxide removal to protect workers and equipment.

Mold in microgravity

An ESA investigation, Blob, allows students aged 10 to 18 to study a naturally-occurring slime mold, Physarum polycephalum, that is capable of basic forms of learning and adaptation. Although it is just one cell and lacks a brain, Blob can move, feed, organize itself, and even transmit knowledge to other slime molds. Students replicate experiments conducted by ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet to see how the Blob’s behavior is affected by microgravity. Using time-lapse video from space, students can compare the speed, shape, and growth of the slime molds in space and on the ground. The French space agency Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales and the French National Center for Scientific Research coordinate Blob.

These are just a few of the hundreds of investigations currently being conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory in the areas of biology and biotechnology, physical sciences, and Earth and space science. Advances in these areas will help keep astronauts healthy during long-duration space travel and demonstrate technologies for future human and robotic exploration missions as part of NASA’s Moon and Mars exploration approach, including lunar missions through NASA’s Artemis program.

Cygnus also will deliver a new mounting bracket that astronauts will attach to the port side of the station’s backbone truss during a spacewalk planned for late August. The mounting bracket will enable the installation of one of the next pair of new solar arrays at a later date.

The Cygnus spacecraft will remain at the space station until November before it disposes of several thousand pounds of trash through its destructive re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.



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