Northrop Grumman Launches Spacecraft Delivering Snacks and Equipment To the ISS (space.com) 16
Space.com has footage of Northrop Grumman's successful launch of a spacecraft that's bringing 7,500 pounds of supplies (as well as scientific equipment for experiments) to the astronauts on the International Space Station:
Those experiments include studies into bone loss from prolonged exposure to weightlessness, bacteria-targeting viruses that could lead to new medications, as well as some cowpeas to be grown as part of a space food experiment. Heidi Parris, NASA's assistant program scientist for the International Space Station program's science office, said those experiments aim to use the weightless environment on the station to learn more about how to live off Earth, including on the moon and Mars.
One novel experiment is Mochii, a small scanning electron microscope about the size of a breadbox that can help astronauts quickly identify the composition of small particles, such as debris or contamination in spacesuits. "Currently the ISS has a blind spot, in that we can't perform this kind of analysis on orbit," James Martinez, a materials scientist at NASA's Johnson Space Center participating in the experiment... Another key experiment on Cygnus is the Spacecraft Fire Experiment IV, or Saffire-IV. As its name suggests, Saffire-IV is the fourth experiment to study how fire behaves in space
Northrop Grumman's Cygnus is one of two private spacecraft (SpaceX's Dragon capsules are the other) that currently haul cargo to the International Space Station for NASA. NG-13 is the 13th Cygnus mission to reach space for NASA by Northrop Grumman as part of the agency's Commercial Resupply Services...
Northrop Grumman's Cygnus NG-13 spacecraft will arrive at the International Space Station and be captured by a robotic arm on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 4 a.m. EST (0900 GMT). NASA's live webcast of the rendezvous will begin at 2:30 a.m. EST (0730 GMT) and run through spacecraft capture.
The spacecraft will also be bringing the astronauts candy, fresh fruit, and three different kinds of cheese wedge -- cheddar, Parmesan and Fontina.
One novel experiment is Mochii, a small scanning electron microscope about the size of a breadbox that can help astronauts quickly identify the composition of small particles, such as debris or contamination in spacesuits. "Currently the ISS has a blind spot, in that we can't perform this kind of analysis on orbit," James Martinez, a materials scientist at NASA's Johnson Space Center participating in the experiment... Another key experiment on Cygnus is the Spacecraft Fire Experiment IV, or Saffire-IV. As its name suggests, Saffire-IV is the fourth experiment to study how fire behaves in space
Northrop Grumman's Cygnus is one of two private spacecraft (SpaceX's Dragon capsules are the other) that currently haul cargo to the International Space Station for NASA. NG-13 is the 13th Cygnus mission to reach space for NASA by Northrop Grumman as part of the agency's Commercial Resupply Services...
Northrop Grumman's Cygnus NG-13 spacecraft will arrive at the International Space Station and be captured by a robotic arm on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 4 a.m. EST (0900 GMT). NASA's live webcast of the rendezvous will begin at 2:30 a.m. EST (0730 GMT) and run through spacecraft capture.
The spacecraft will also be bringing the astronauts candy, fresh fruit, and three different kinds of cheese wedge -- cheddar, Parmesan and Fontina.
Delivering? (Score:3)
Don't count your chicken bites until they're safely docked
Re:Delivering? (Score:4, Funny)
Don't count your chicken bites until they're safely docked
Don't worry, they've given a sub-contract to Boeing and are relying on their expertise.
Re: Delivering? (Score:1)
Well, Intel sub-contracted AMD for graphics, and if they want to survive, they better sub-contract TSMC if TSMC doesn't laugh them out the door, so ... :D
"SEC fraudsters" (Score:1)
Are you fuckin serious?
How much more overblown do you want a harmless fuckin "tweet" to be?
You people are the cancer of the planet.
Re: (Score:2)
Especially after how their mission audio/flight animation bugged out during the launch (various "hot mic" moments before launch, 46:10 & 47:20). I realize that those things aren't directly necessary for a safe flight but they can indicate a lack of coordination/testing that can result in a failed mission.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Pounds (Score:2)
At what acceleration is it 7,500 pounds?
Re: (Score:2)
It's enough to propel a spaceship through the Kessel Run in about 12 parsecs.
If you round down.
Happy to see Northrop Grumman in the game (Score:3)
Space Cadet (Score:2)
Competing with DoorDash (Score:3)
Watching old companies tying to act cool... (Score:2)
...because there are cool new kids on the block, reminds me of this: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes... [knowyourmeme.com]
Re: (Score:2)
How about some details about the fucking ROCKET besides what it's called?
Well, it's the same rocket used to launch Cygnus resupply missions on previous space-station runs. Second flight of the latest upgrade ("230+"), if that's what you're looking for.
The Cygnus ship and the Antares launcher was developed by Orbital Sciences, before they were acquired by ATK and then by Grumman.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antares_(rocket)