NASA Airs Departure of US Cargo Ship from International Space Station

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#1 NASA Airs Departure of US Cargo Ship from International Space Station

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February 05, 2019
MEDIA ADVISORY M19-004
NASA Airs Departure of US Cargo Ship from International Space Station
Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft, with its prominent cymbal-shaped UltraFlex solar arrays, is pictured Nov. 19, 2018, in the grips of the International Space Station's Canadarm2 robotic arm after it was captured by Expedition 57 Flight Engineer Serena Auñón-Chancellor and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Alexander Gerst.<br />Credits: NASA
Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft, with its prominent cymbal-shaped UltraFlex solar arrays, is pictured Nov. 19, 2018, in the grips of the International Space Station's Canadarm2 robotic arm after it was captured by Expedition 57 Flight Engineer Serena Auñón-Chancellor and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Alexander Gerst.
Credits: NASA
M19-004.jpg (190.6 KiB) Viewed 1885 times
Three months after delivering several tons of supplies and science to the International Space Station, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo craft will depart the complex at 11:10 a.m. EST Friday, Feb. 8. Live coverage will begin at 10:45 a.m. on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

Expedition 58 Flight Engineers Anne McClain of NASA and David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency will use the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to release Cygnus after ground controllers unbolt the spacecraft from the Earth-facing port of the Unity module and maneuver it to the release position.

Cygnus will depart the station with 5,500 pounds of trash and carry out an extended mission over about two weeks. The spacecraft will maneuver to a higher altitude where an external CubeSat deployer, developed by industry partner NanoRacks to provide increased commercial access to space, will release two CubeSats into orbit. Cygnus then will move to a lower orbit to deploy a third CubeSat, KickSat-2, which carries 100 tiny satellites called femtosatellites. The femtosatellites each include a power, sensor and communication system on a printed circuit board that measures 3.5 by 3.5 cm, with a thickness of a few millimeters and a mass of less than 3.5 ounces. These deployments demonstrate additional commercial activity and technology advancements enabled by the partnerships forged through the orbiting laboratory and the potential for future opportunities.

Cygnus is scheduled to deorbit Feb. 25 and enter the Earth’s atmosphere, burning up harmlessly over the Pacific Ocean. There will be no television coverage of Cygnus’ deorbit.

Learn more about the International Space Station, its crews and research, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/station

-end-
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#2 Re: NASA Airs Departure of US Cargo Ship from International Space Station

Post by luke strawwalker »

In other news, I flushed a really big turd this morning...

No television coverage will be provided...

LOL:) Seriously, Cygnus undocking is about as exciting as flushing the commode... it's not reusable and burns up on entry. I don't see why they even bother covering it. At least Progress can both carry and transfer propellants to the station and perform reboosts if needed (it has the capability anyway). Cygnus is just a pressurized jerry-can shot into orbit with a hybrid Russian-engine powered booster with a solid propellant stage cobbled up on top, that can manuever close enough to the station to be grappled and berthed to it, and act as a trash dumpster on reentry.

So it's going to blow off a few cubesats on the way back... I lost a hubcap once back in the 80's... LOL:)

Dragon is WAY more interesting-- actually moving space exploration forward, and serving as the testbed for a manned system-- not just cobbled together system to get the COTS contract money like Cygnus is...

Later! OL J R :)
My MUNIFICENCE is BOUNDLESS, Mr. Bond...
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