February 21, 2022: International Space Station Configuration. Five spaceships are parked at the spaceport station including the SpaceX Crew Dragon; Northrop Grummans Cygnus area truck; and Russias Soyuz MS-19 crew ship and the Progress 79 and 80 resupply ships. Credit: NASA
Northrop Grummans Cygnus spacecraft installation on the International Space Station is now complete. Cygnus launched atop an Antares rocket at 12:40 p.m. EST Saturday, February 19 from NASAs Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. At about 4:44 a.m., NASA astronaut Raja Chari, in addition to NASA astronaut Kayla Barron as backup, recorded Cygnus, carrying 8,300 pounds of research, science, and hardware experiments to the International Space Station.
Highlights of area station research assisted in by this mission consist of:
a study that takes a look at the impacts of a drug on breast and prostate cancer cells
a new combustion center
an examination from Colgate-Palmolive that will utilize the velocity of skin aging in microgravity to help create and validate an engineered tissue design to act as a platform for checking prospective products to protect aging skin
a presentation of a lithium-ion secondary battery capable of safe, steady operation under extreme temperature levels and in a vacuum environment
brand-new hydrogen sensing units that will be tested for the area stations oxygen generation system
a system that will evaluate hydroponic and aeroponic techniques for plant growth and will allow scientists to observe root growth through video and still images
Cygnus will also deliver vital hardware to be installed throughout the upcoming ISS Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA) spacewalks, in addition to other parts for the effective performance of astronaut life on the area station, such as a trash deployer and acoustic covers for the waste management system.
This Cygnus objective is the very first to function boosted abilities that will enable the spacecraft to carry out a reboost, utilizing its engines to adjust the area stations orbit as a standard service for NASA. The firm has one reboost is prepared while Cygnus is connected to the orbiting lab. A test of the maneuver was carried out in 2018 during Cygnus ninth resupply mission.
Cygnus will stay at the space station until May prior to it releases CubeSats, then disposes of several thousand pounds of garbage during its re-entry into Earths atmosphere, which will lead to its destruction.
Findings from these and other investigations aboard the spaceport station will contribute to keeping astronauts healthy during long-duration space travel and demonstrate innovations for future human and robotic exploration missions as part of NASAs Moon and Mars efforts, including lunar missions through the firms Artemis program.
5 spaceships are parked at the area station consisting of the SpaceX Crew Dragon; Northrop Grummans Cygnus area truck; and Russias Soyuz MS-19 team ship and the Progress 79 and 80 resupply ships. Northrop Grummans Cygnus spacecraft setup on the International Space Station is now total. At about 4:44 a.m., NASA astronaut Raja Chari, along with NASA astronaut Kayla Barron as backup, captured Cygnus, bring 8,300 pounds of hardware, research study, and science experiments to the International Space Station.