NG-20
Cygnus S.S. Patricia “Patty” Hilliard Robertson (NG-20), the spacecraft to be used in the mission, undergoing tests at Kennedy Space Center
Mission typeISS logistics
OperatorNorthrop Grumman
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftS.S. Patricia “Patty” Hilliard Robertson
Spacecraft typeEnhanced Cygnus
Manufacturer
Start of mission
Launch date29 January 2024 (planned)[1]
RocketFalcon 9, B1072.1
Launch siteCCSFS SLC-40
ContractorNorthrop Grumman
End of mission
DisposalDeorbited
Decay date2024 (planned)
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Inclination51.66°
Berthing at the International Space Station
Berthing portUnity nadir

Cygnus NG-20 mission patch
 

NG-20 is the twentieth planned flight of the Cygnus robotic resupply spacecraft and its seventeenth flight to the International Space Station (ISS). It is planned to launch on 29 January 2024.[1][2][3][4] It is contracted to Northrop Grumman under the Commercial Resupply Services II (CRS-2) contract with NASA. The capsule is scheduled to be launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Orbital ATK (now 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 the 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]

NG-20 is the first launch of a Cygnus spacecraft after the exhaustion of the supply of Antares rockets, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, losing both the Russian rocket engine supplier and the Ukrainian booster stage supplier. The next two Cygnus missions will also use Falcon 9, Subsequent missions will use the next-generation Antares 300 series that does not depend on Ukrainian or Russian parts and which is under development.[6]

History

Cygnus NG-20 is the ninth 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 will be the fifteenth flight of the Enhanced-sized Cygnus PCM.[3][7]

Manifest

The Cygnus spacecraft will be loaded with cargo and supplies before its launch.[8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Clark, Stephen (25 October 2023). "Launch Schedule". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  2. ↑ Gebhardt, Chris (1 June 2018). "Orbital ATK looks ahead to CRS-2 Cygnus flights, Antares on the commercial market". NASASpaceflight.com. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  3. 1 2 Clark, Stephen (1 October 2020). "Northrop Grumman "optimistic" to receive more NASA cargo mission orders". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  4. ↑ "Northrop Grumman shifting to Space Coast for future space station missions". 3 August 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Cygnus Spacecraft". Northrop Grumman. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  6. ↑ "Northrop Grumman and Firefly to partner on upgraded Antares". SpaceNews. 2022-08-08. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
  7. ↑ Leone, Dan (17 August 2015). "NASA Orders Two More ISS Cargo Missions From Orbital ATK". SpaceNews. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  8. ↑ "Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply". ISS Program Office. NASA. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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