Cygnus NG-10

Last updated

NG-10
Northrop Grumman's CRS-10 at the International Space Station.jpg
Canadarm2 grapples the S.S. John Young
NamesOA-10E (2015–2018)
Mission type ISS logistics
Operator Northrop Grumman
COSPAR ID 2018-092A
SATCAT no. 43704
Mission duration100 days, 4 minutes
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftS.S. John Young
Spacecraft type Enhanced Cygnus [1] [2]
Manufacturer
Start of mission
Launch date17 November 2018, 09:01:31 UTC
Rocket Antares 230 [3]
Launch site Wallops Pad 0A
ContractorNorthrop Grumman
End of mission
DisposalDeorbited
Decay date25 February 2019, 09:05 UTC [4]
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric orbit
Regime Low Earth orbit
Inclination 51.66°
Berthing at the International Space Station
Berthing port Unity nadir [5]
RMS capture19 November 2018, 10:28 UTC [5]
Berthing date19 November 2018, 12:31 UTC
Unberthing date8 February 2019, 14:37 UTC
RMS release8 February 2019, 16:16 UTC
Time berthed81 days, 3 hours, 45 minutes
Cargo
Mass3,350 kg (7,390 lb) [6]
Pressurised3,273 kg (7,216 lb)
Unpressurised77 kg (170 lb)
Cygnus NG-10 Patch.png
NASA insignia  
←  OA-9E
NG-11  →

NG-10, [7] previously known as OA-10E, is the eleventh flight of the Northrop Grumman uncrewed resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its tenth flight to the International Space Station under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) contract with NASA. [8] [9] The mission launched on 17 November 2018, at 09:01:31 UTC. [10] [11] This particular mission is part of an extension of the initial CRS contract that enables NASA to cover the ISS resupply needs until the Commercial Resupply Services-2 (CRS-2) contract enters in effect. [12]

Contents

Orbital ATK and NASA jointly developed a new space transportation system to provide commercial cargo resupply services to the International Space Station (ISS). Under the Commercial Orbital Transportation System (COTS) program, then Orbital Sciences designed and built Antares, a medium-class launch vehicle; Cygnus, an advanced maneuvering spacecraft, and a Pressurized Cargo Module which is provided by Orbital's industrial partner Thales Alenia Space. [13] Northrop Grumman purchased Orbital ATK in June 2018, and it was renamed Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems. [14]

History

A bald eagle is seen atop a lightning tower next to the Northrop Grumman Antares rocket with, Cygnus spacecraft on board, at Pad-0A, 14 November 2018 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. NG-10.jpg
A bald eagle is seen atop a lightning tower next to the Northrop Grumman Antares rocket with, Cygnus spacecraft on board, at Pad-0A, 14 November 2018 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

The COTS demonstration mission was successfully conducted in September 2013, and Orbital commenced operational ISS cargo missions under the Commercial Resupply Service (CRS) program with two missions in 2014. Regrettably, the third operational mission, Cygnus CRS Orb-3, resulted was not successful due to spectacular Antares failure during launch. The company decided to discontinue the Antares 100 series and accelerate the introduction of a new propulsion. The Antares system was upgraded with newly built RD-181 first-stage engines to provide greater payload performance and increased reliability. [3]

In the meantime, the company had contracted with United Launch Alliance for an Atlas V launch of Cygnus CRS OA-4 in late 2015 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with a second Atlas V Cygnus launch in 2016. [3] [15] The company had planned Cygnus missions for the first (CRS OA-5), second (CRS OA-6) and fourth quarters (CRS OA-7) of 2016. Two of which flew on the new Antares 230 and one on the aforementioned second Atlas V. These three missions enabled Orbital ATK to cover their initial CRS contracted payload obligation. [15] [12] This particular mission, known as NG-10, is part of an extension program that will enable NASA to cover the ISS resupply needs until the Commercial Resupply Services 2 contract enters in effect, and thus the E indicates that it actually is an extension above the originally contracted payload transport. [12]

Production and integration of Cygnus spacecraft is performed in Dulles, Virginia. The Cygnus service module is mated with the pressurized cargo module at the launch site, and mission operations are conducted from control centers in Dulles, Virginia and Houston, Texas. [13]

Spacecraft

This is the second-to-last of the eleven flights by Northrop Grumman under the Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA, and it's considered an extension over the originally contracted flights. This will be the seventh flight of the Enhanced sized Cygnus PCM. [15]

In an Orbital ATK tradition, this Cygnus spacecraft was named the S.S. John Young . He was the only person to fly twice on each of three NASA programs which included Gemini, Apollo, and the Space Shuttle. John Young died on 5 January 2018 at the age of 87.

Northrop Grumman launches Cygnus NG-10 Northrop Grumman Antares CRS-10 Launch (NHQ201811170010).jpg
Northrop Grumman launches Cygnus NG-10

Manifest

Total weight of cargo: 3,350 kg (7,390 lb). [6]

SEOPS Slingshot Deployer System Cygnus NG-10 is the first mission to fly this Cubesat deployment system. The system and its Cubesats arrived at ISS on SpaceX CRS-16 and then installed by Expedition 58 on Cygnus NG-10 while berthed to ISS. [16] [17]

After Cygnus leaves the station, the cargo craft will navigate to approximately 500 km (310 mi) above the Earth, approximately 100 km (62 mi) higher than the space station’s orbit. Slingshot will deploy two satellites (David and Goliath II Quantum Radar, both launched on board of the previous Dragon CRS-16 mission), that are expected to stay in orbit at least two (2) years. In addition, a mounted payload will test SlingShot’s capability to host fixed payloads for an extended period, where the payload uses Cygnus’ power, attitude control and communication capabilities.

After Cubesat deployment and conclusion of attached experiments, Northrop Grumman controllers commanded the spacecraft to a destructive re-entry over the South Pacific Ocean on 25 February 2019.

Launch and early operations

After Northrop Grumman purchased Orbital ATK in June 2018, the mission was changed from CRS OA-10E to NG-10. The Antares rocket was built and processed in the Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF) over the course of six months. The rocket was rolled out to MARS pad 0A where it was originally planned to launch 15 November 2018 but was twice delayed due to inclement weather and successfully launched on 17 November 2018.

AttemptPlannedResultTurnaroundReasonDecision PointWeather go (%)Notes
115 November 2018, 04:49:38 A.M.Delayed24 hrsWeather14 November 2018, 11:00 A.M.10%Concerns over bad weather.
216 November 2018, 04:23:55 A.M.Delayed24 hrsWeather15 November 2018, 11:10 A.M.45%Continuing concerns of bad weather.
317 November 2018, 04:01:31 A.M.LaunchWeather16 November 2018, 11:20 A.M.95%Launched successfully.

See also

Related Research Articles

Orbital Sciences Corporation was an American company specializing in the design, manufacture and launch of small- and medium- class space and rocket systems for commercial, military and other government customers. In 2014 Orbital merged with Alliant Techsystems to create a new company called Orbital ATK, Inc., which in turn was purchased by Northrop Grumman in 2018. The remnants of the former Orbital Sciences Corporation today are a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman known as Northrop Grumman Space Systems.

Antares (rocket) Launch vehicle produced by Orbital Sciences Corporation from the United States

Antares, known during early development as Taurus II, is an expendable launch system developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation and the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau to launch the Cygnus spacecraft to the International Space Station as part of NASA's COTS and CRS programs. Able to launch payloads heavier than 8,000 kg (18,000 lb) into low-Earth orbit, Antares is currently the largest rocket operated by Northrop Grumman. Antares launches from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport and made its inaugural flight on April 21, 2013.

Cygnus (spacecraft) Uncrewed cargo spacecraft developed by Orbital Sciences

The Cygnus spacecraft is an expendable American cargo spacecraft developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation and now manufactured and launched by Northrop Grumman Space Systems as part of NASA's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program. It is launched by Northrop Grumman's Antares rocket or ULA's Atlas V and is designed to transport supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) following the retirement of the American Space Shuttle. Since August 2000, ISS resupply missions have been regularly flown by the Russian Progress spacecraft, as well as by the European Automated Transfer Vehicle, and the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle. With the Cygnus spacecraft and the SpaceX Dragon, NASA seeks to increase its partnerships with domestic commercial aviation and aeronautics industry.

Commercial Resupply Services Series of contracts awarded by NASA from 2008-present for delivery of cargo and supplies to the ISS

Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) are a series of flights awarded by NASA for the delivery of cargo and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) on commercially operated spacecraft. The first CRS contracts were signed in 2008 and awarded $1.6 billion to SpaceX for twelve cargo Dragon and $1.9 billion to Orbital Sciences for eight Cygnus flights, covering deliveries to 2016. The Falcon 9 and Antares rockets were also developed under the CRS program to deliver cargo spacecraft to the ISS.

Cygnus OA-4 International Space Station (ISS) resupply mission

OA-4, previously known as Orbital-4, was the fourth successful flight of the Orbital ATK uncrewed resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its third flight to the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) contract with NASA. With the Antares launch vehicle undergoing a redesign following its failure during the Orb-3 launch, OA-4 was launched by an Atlas V launch vehicle. Following three launch delays due to inclement weather beginning on 3 December 2015, OA-4 was launched at 21:44:57 UTC on 6 December 2015. With a liftoff weight of 7,492 kg (16,517 lb), OA-4 became the heaviest payload ever launched on an Atlas V. The spacecraft rendezvoused with and was berthed to the ISS on 9 December 2015. It was released on 19 February 2016 after 72 days at the International Space Station. Deorbit occurred on 20 February 2016 at approximately 16:00 UTC.

Cygnus OA-5 International Space Station (ISS) resupply mission

OA-5, previously known as Orbital-5, was the seventh planned flight of the Orbital Sciences' uncrewed resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its sixth flight to the International Space Station under the Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. The mission launched on 17 October 2016 at 23:45:36 UTC. Orbital Sciences and NASA jointly developed a new space transportation system to provide commercial cargo resupply services to the International Space Station (ISS). Under the Commercial Orbital Transportation System (COTS) program, Orbital designed and built Antares, a medium-class launch vehicle; Cygnus, an advanced maneuvering spacecraft; and a Pressurized Cargo Module which is provided by Orbital's industrial partner Thales Alenia Space.

Cygnus OA-6 International Space Station (ISS) resupply mission

OA-6, previously known as Orbital-6, is the sixth flight of the Orbital ATK uncrewed resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its fifth flight to the International Space Station under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA. The mission launched on 23 March 2016 at 03:05:52 UTC.

Cygnus OA-7 International Space Station (ISS) resupply mission

OA-7, previously known as Orbital-7, is the eighth flight of the Orbital ATK uncrewed resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its seventh flight to the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. The mission launched on 18 April 2017 at 15:11:26 UTC. Orbital and NASA jointly developed a new space transportation system to provide commercial cargo resupply services to the International Space Station (ISS). Under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, then Orbital Sciences designed and built Antares, a medium-class launch vehicle; Cygnus, an advanced maneuvering spacecraft, and a Pressurized Cargo Module which is provided by Orbital's industrial partner Thales Alenia Space.

Cygnus OA-8E International Space Station (ISS) resupply mission

OA-8E was the ninth flight of the Orbital ATK uncrewed resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its eighth flight to the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) contract with NASA. The mission launched on 12 November 2017 at 12:19:51 UTC. Orbital and NASA jointly developed a new space transportation system to provide commercial cargo resupply services to the International Space Station (ISS). Under the Commercial Orbital Transportation System (COTS) program, then Orbital Sciences designed and built Antares, a medium-class launch vehicle; Cygnus, an advanced maneuvering spacecraft, and a Pressurized Cargo Module which is provided by Orbital's industrial partner Thales Alenia Space.

Cygnus OA-9E International Space Station (ISS) resupply mission

OA-9E was the tenth flight of the Orbital ATK uncrewed resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its ninth flight to the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Services with NASA. The mission launched on 21 May 2018 at 08:44:06 UTC. Orbital ATK and NASA jointly developed a new space transportation system to provide commercial cargo resupply services to the International Space Station. Under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, then Orbital Sciences designed and built Antares, a medium-class launch vehicle; Cygnus, an advanced maneuvering spacecraft, and a Pressurized Cargo Module which is provided by Orbital's industrial partner Thales Alenia Space.

Cygnus NG-11 International Space Station (ISS) resupply mission

NG-11, previously known as OA-11, is the twelfth flight of the Northrop Grumman robotic resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its eleventh flight to the International Space Station under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) contract with NASA. The mission launched on 17 April 2019 at 20:46:07 UTC. This is the last mission from the extended CRS-1 contract; follow-up missions are part of the CRS-2 contract. Cygnus NG-11 was also the first mission to load critical hardware onto Cygnus within the last 24 hours prior to launch, a new Antares feature.

Cygnus NG-12 International Space Station (ISS) resupply mission

NG-12, previously known as OA-12, was the thirteenth flight of the Northrop Grumman robotic resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its twelfth flight to the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Services 2 (CRS-2) contract with NASA. The mission launched on 2 November 2019 at 13:59:47 UTC). This was the first launch of Cygnus under the CRS-2 contract.

Cygnus NG-13 International Space Station (ISS) resupply mission

NG-13, previously known as OA-13, was the fourteenth flight of the Northrop Grumman robotic resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its thirteenth flight to the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) contract with NASA. The mission launched on 15 February 2020 at 20:21:01 UTC after nearly a week of delays. This is the second launch of Cygnus under the CRS-2 contract.

Cygnus NG-14 International Space Station (ISS) resupply mission

NG-14, previously known as OA-14, was the fifteenth flight of the Northrop Grumman robotic resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its fourteenth flight to the International Space Station under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) contract with NASA. The mission was launched on 3 October 2020, at 01:16:14 UTC.

Cygnus NG-15 American International Space Station (ISS) resupply mission

NG-15, previously known as OA-15, was the fifteenth launch of the Northrop Grumman robotic resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its fourteenth flight to the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA. The mission launched on 20 February 2021 at 17:36:50 UTC. This is the fourth launch of Cygnus under the CRS-2 contract.

Cygnus NG-16 International Space Station (ISS) resupply mission

Cygnus NG-16, previously known as Cygnus OA-16, is the sixteenth flight of the Northrop Grumman robotic resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its fifteenth flight to the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-2) contract with NASA. The mission was launched on 10 August 2021 at 22:01:05 UTC, for a 90-day mission at the ISS. This is the fifth launch of Cygnus under the CRS-2 contract.

Cygnus NG-17 Uncrewed resupply spacecraft

NG-17, previously known as OA-17, is the seventeenth planned flight of the Northrop Grumman robotic resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its sixteenth flight to the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-2) contract with NASA. The mission is planned to launch in February 2022. This is the sixth launch of Cygnus under the CRS-2 contract.

Cygnus NG-18 Uncrewed resupply spacecraft

NG-18 is the eighteenth planned flight of the Northrop Grumman robotic resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its sixteenth flight to the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-2) contract with NASA. The mission is planned to launch in Spring 2023. This is the seventh launch of Cygnus under the CRS-2 contract.

Cygnus NG-19 Uncrewed resupply spacecraft

NG-19 is the nineteenth planned flight of the Northrop Grumman robotic resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its sixteenth flight to the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-2) contract with NASA. The mission is planned to launch in Autumn 2023. This is the eighth launch of Cygnus under the CRS-2 contract.

References

  1. ↑ Bergin, Chris (22 February 2012). "Space industry giants Orbital upbeat ahead of Antares debut". NasaSpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  2. ↑ "Orbital ATK Team on Track for Fall 2015 Cygnus Mission and Antares Return to Flight in 2016". Orbital ATK. 12 August 2015. Archived from the original on 14 August 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Gebhardt, Chris (14 August 2015). "Orbital ATK make progress toward Return To Flight of Antares rocket". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  4. ↑ Richardson, Derek (25 February 2019). "NG-10 Cygnus ends post-ISS mission after deploying satellites". Spaceflight Insider.
  5. 1 2 Clark, Stephen (19 November 2018). "Space station receives second of back-to-back cargo deliveries". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  6. 1 2 "Northrop Grumman CRS-10 Mission Overview" (PDF). nasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved 15 November 2018.PD-icon.svgThis article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  7. ↑ Overview - CRS-10 mission, Northrop Grumman and NASA.
  8. ↑ "Launch Schedule". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  9. ↑ "International Space Station Flight Schedule". Students for the Exploration and Development of Space. 15 May 2013.
  10. ↑ Malik, Tariq (14 November 2018). "Bad Weather Forces NASA, Northrop Grumman to Delay Cargo Launch to Space Station". SPACE.com.
  11. ↑ Clark, Stephen (14 October 2018). "Launch schedule". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  12. 1 2 3 Leone, Dan (20 August 2015). "NASA Considering More Cargo Orders from Orbital ATK, SpaceX". SpaceNews. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  13. 1 2 "Cygnus Fact Sheet" (PDF). Orbital ATK. 24 March 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  14. ↑ Erwin, Sandra (5 June 2018). "Acquisition of Orbital ATK approved, company renamed Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems". SpaceNews. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  15. 1 2 3 Leone, Dan (17 August 2015). "NASA Orders Two More ISS Cargo Missions From Orbital ATK". SpaceNews. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  16. ↑ "SlingShot Tests Small Satellite Deployment and Payload Hosting Capabilities". NASA. 7 February 2019.PD-icon.svgThis article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  17. ↑ SEOPS PR (7 February 2019). "Slingshot Deployment Process". SEOPS, LLC.
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