Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is set to launch the company’s 16th
resupply mission (NG-16) to the International Space Station under NASA’s
Commercial Resupply Services-2 (CRS-2) contract. For the NG-16 mission, the
Cygnus spacecraft will launch aboard the company’s Antares rocket, carrying
approximately 8,200 pounds of supplies, equipment and experiments for the
astronauts aboard the station—the company’s largest resupply delivery to
date.
Antares is set to launch Aug. 10 at 5:56 p.m. EDT from the Mid-Atlantic
Regional Spaceport 0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Cygnus
is scheduled to rendezvous with the Space Station on Aug. 12. Live coverage
of the Antares launch and NG-16 berthing with the station will be available
on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.
Each Cygnus spacecraft is named in honor of an individual who has made
significant contributions to the U.S. space program and human spaceflight.
For the NG-16 mission, Cygnus commemorates Ellison Onizuka, the first Asian
American astronaut. After a long and successful career as a test pilot at
the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, Onizuka was selected to become a NASA
astronaut in 1978 and flew his first mission in 1985. In 1986, Onizuka and
his crew tragically lost their lives during the launch of Space Shuttle
Challenger.
The S.S. Ellison Onizuka will remain attached to the ISS for approximately
three months before departing with up to 8,221 pounds (approximately 3,729
kilograms) of disposal cargo.
Riding as a payload on the Cygnus spacecraft is a Northrop Grumman, Space
Development Agency (SDA) and Missile Defense Agency (MDA) experimental
mission called the Prototype Infrared Payload (PIRPL). Upon arrival at the
Space Station, PIRPL will begin collecting infrared data and expanding
detection capabilities that will aid in the development of algorithms for
the next generation of tracking satellites.
Details about the mission, as well as more info on Ellison Onizuka, are
available on Northrop Grumman’s website.
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Space & Astrophysics