Cygnus NG-17
NamesCygnus OA-17 (2016–2018)
Mission typeISS resupply
OperatorNorthrop Grumman
COSPAR ID2022-015A
SATCAT no.51712Edit this on Wikidata
Mission duration119 days, 13 hours, 14 minutes
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftS.S. Piers Sellers
Spacecraft typeEnhanced Cygnus
Manufacturer
Launch mass.
Start of mission
Launch date19 February 2022, 17:40:03 UTC[1]
RocketAntares 230+
Launch siteWallops, Pad 0A
ContractorNorthrop Grumman
End of mission
DisposalDeorbited
Decay date29 June 2022, 06:55 UTC
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Inclination51.66°
Berthing at International Space Station
Berthing portUnity nadir
RMS capture21 February 2022, 09:44 UTC
Berthing date21 February 2022, 12:02 UTC
Unberthing date28 June 2022, 07:00 UTC
RMS release28 June 2022, 11:07 UTC
Time berthed127 days

Cygnus NG-17 mission patch
 

Cygnus NG-17,[2] previously known as Cygnus OA-17, was the seventeenth 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) contract with NASA. The mission launched on 19 February 2022 at 17:40:03 UTC.[1] It was the sixth launch of Cygnus under the CRS-2 contract.[3][4]

Orbital ATK’s space division (now part of Northrop Grumman Space Systems) 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, Orbital ATK designed, acquired, built, and assembled these components: Antares, a medium-class launch vehicle; Cygnus, an advanced spacecraft using a Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM) provided by industrial partner Thales Alenia Space and a Service Module based on the Orbital GEOStar satellite bus.[5]

History

Cygnus NG-17 was the sixth Cygnus mission under the Commercial Resupply Services-2 contract.

Production and integration of Cygnus spacecraft are 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.[5]

Spacecraft

This was the twelfth flight of the Enhanced-sized Cygnus PCM.[4][6] Northrop Grumman named this spacecraft after Piers Sellers, in celebration of his role in assembling the International Space Station.[2]

Manifest

Cygnus spacecraft is loaded with 3,651 kg (8,049 lb) of research, hardware, and crew supplies.[7][8]

  • Crew supplies: 1,352 kg (2,981 lb)
  • Science investigations: 896 kg (1,975 lb)
  • Spacewalk equipment: 60 kg (130 lb)
  • Vehicle hardware: 1,308 kg (2,884 lb)
  • Computer resources: 35 kg (77 lb)

ISS reboost

Aside from the orbital delivery, Cygnus performed the program's first operational reboost of the ISS. The space station's orbit needs to be changed from time to time as it naturally falls back in Earth's atmosphere.[9] The ISS will change its attitude by about 90 degrees before executing the Cygnus reboost on 18 June 2022.[10][11]

On 20 June 2022 at 15:20 UTC, Cygnus NG-17 gimbal engine was scheduled to fire for 5 minutes and 1 second but the firing was aborted after 5 seconds.[12]

On Saturday, June 25, 2022 at 17:42 UTC, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus completed its first limited reboost of the International Space Station. Cygnus’ gimbaled delta velocity engine was used to adjust the space station’s orbit through a reboost of the altitude of the space station. The maneuver lasted 5 minutes, 1 second and raised the station’s altitude 1/10 of a mile at apogee and 5/10 of a mile at perigee.[13]

Research

The new experiments that have arrived at the orbiting laboratory will inspire future scientists and explorers, and provide valuable insight for researchers.

NASA Glenn Research Center studies:[14]

  • TBD

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "NASA Invites Media to Northrop Grumman's February Launch from Virginia". NASA (Press release). 12 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  2. 1 2 "NASA Commercial Resupply Mission NG-17". Northrop Grumman. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  3. ↑ Gebhardt, Chris (1 June 2018). "Orbital ATK looks ahead to CRS-2 Cygnus flights, Antares on the commercial market". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Northrop Grumman "optimistic" to receive more NASA cargo mission orders". Spaceflight Now. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Cygnus Spacecraft". Northrop Grumman. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  6. ↑ "NASA Orders Two More ISS Cargo Missions From Orbital ATK". SpaceNews. 17 August 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  7. ↑ "Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply". ISS Program Office. NASA. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  8. ↑ "Overview for Northrop Grumman's 17th Commercial Resupply Mission". ISS Program Office. NASA. 14 February 2022. Archived from the original on 14 February 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  9. ↑ Elizabeth Howell (19 February 2022). "Northrop Grumman rocket launches Cygnus cargo ship on 2-day trip to space station". Space.com.
  10. ↑ @NASA (23 February 2022). "@RaffaeleDiPalma Yes, the @Space_Station will change its attitude by about 90 degrees before executing a Cygnus reboost" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ↑ "Schedule of ISS flight events (part 2)". forum.nasaspaceflight.com. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  12. ↑ "Cyguns Reboost Aborted, Next Steps Being Planned". 20 June 2022.
  13. ↑ Garcia, Mark (25 June 2022). "Cygnus Cargo Craft Fires Engine for Limited Station Reboost". blogs.nasa.gov. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  14. ↑ "ISS Research Program". Glenn Research Center. NASA. 1 January 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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