DULLES, Va., - The Cygnus spacecraft successfully departed the International Space Station three months after arriving at the space station to deliver about 8,000 pounds of scientific experiments and supplies to the orbiting laboratory, NASA reports. Continue reading original article.
The Intelligent Aerospace take:
January 11, 2021 - “For more than six years, Northrop Grumman has supported human spaceflight by delivering critical cargo to astronauts aboard the International Space Station and acting as a host to a number of science experiments and technology demonstrations,” said Frank DeMauro, vice president and general manager, tactical space systems, Northrop Grumman. “Our Cygnus spacecraft will once again demonstrate the capabilities and flexibility we offer our customers by conducting critical experiments during our secondary mission phase.”
Cygnus’ secondary mission includes conducting NASA’s Spacecraft Fire Safety Experiment V (Saffire-V) experiment, which helps researchers understand how fire behaves in microgravity, and hosting the SharkSat payload.
SharkSat is a Northrop Grumman-developed prototype payload mounted to the Cygnus spacecraft that will provide data about the performance of key technologies in a space environment for future missions. SharkSat is driving rapid innovation in technology development and growing Northrop Grumman’s next generation of technical leaders.
Related: NASA cargo and science heads to space station on Northrop Grumman mission
Related: Boeing to support International Space Station operations through 2024
Jamie Whitney, Associate Editor
Intelligent Aerospace
