A commercial spacecraft bearing scientific experiments and cargo for NASA is on its way to the International Space Station following a successful Sunday launch in Florida.
The resupply run is the 21st commercial services mission that the Virginia aeronautics and defense company Northrop Grumman has undertaken on behalf of the U.S. space agency. After inclement weather delayed the mission's initial planned launch on Saturday, the company's Cygnus spacecraft was able to reach orbit the next morning on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Cygnus then managed to reach a safe altitude Sunday afternoon and deploy its two solar arrays needed to generate energy from the overheard sun – despite missing its first burn to orient it on a correct trajectory. Northrop Grumman engineers are working on a new burn and trajectory plan so that the spacecraft can still arrive on time at the space station, NASA said Sunday in a news release.
Here's how to rewatch the launch and what to know about the resupply mission.
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Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft hitched a ride aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for a Sunday launch from Florida's Canaveral Space Force Station, located just south of NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
Launched at 11:02 a.m. EDT, the spacecraft is ultimately bound for the International Space Station's orbital laboratory.
The launch marked the second time SpaceX provided launch services for a Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply mission for NASA after the first mission in January, reported Florida Today, a USA TODAY Network publication.
NASA’s provided live coverage of the launch on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, the space agency's YouTube channel and the agency’s website.
Rewatch the livestream here:
Though the Cygnus spacecraft successfully separated from the Falcon 9 second stage, the craft did not preform its first burn to boost its altitude.
The issue was attributed to a slightly low pressure state, according to NASA, which said nothing indicated that the engine itself has any problem.
If the mission remains on track as expected, Cygnus should arrive early Tuesday at the International Space Station, according to NASA.
The agency announced that it will begin live coverage of the spacecraft’s arrival at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The livestream should provide viewers with a sight of NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps capturing Cygnus using the station’s robotic arm and installing it on the Earth-facing port of the station's Unity module, where the crew lives and works.
The Cygnus spacecraft is filled with nearly 8,200 pounds of supplies, hardware and other critical materials for dozens of scientific and research experiments, according to NASA.
That includes tests for water recovery technology and supplies needed for a process to produce blood and immune stem cells in microgravity. Also included in the payload are materials to study the effects of spaceflight on engineered liver tissue and microorganism DNA, NASA said.
The Cygnus will also provide the space station crew with a balloon, penny and hexnut for a new STEM demonstration on centripetal force for astronauts to record for students on Earth..
The resupply mission is crucial, NASA said, as it provides the station with tools and materials needed to conduct experiments and research that will lay the groundwork for future exploration of outer space through the agency's Artemis program. The first lunar program since the Apollo era ended in 1972, Artemis aims in the years ahead to send astronauts back to the moon to prepare for inaugural crewed expeditions to Mars.
The Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled to spend nearly six months at the space station before it departs in January, when it will burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. Cygnus also is equipped with the capability to reboost the station’s orbit if need be.
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]
