The non-public Cygnus cargo craft is scheduled to reach on the Worldwide House Station (ISS) early Wednesday morning (Nov. 9), and you’ll watch the motion stay.
Cygnus, a robotic freighter constructed by aerospace large Northop Grumman, launched towards the ISS on Monday (Nov. 7) from Virginia. If all goes based on plan, astronauts will seize the automobile utilizing the orbiting lab’s robotic arm round 5:50 a.m. EST (1050 GMT).
You possibly can watch the rendezvous and seize actions stay right here at House.com, courtesy of NASA, starting at 3:30 a.m. EST (0830 GMT). After a break, protection of Cygnus’ set up aboard the Worldwide House Station’s Unity module will begin airing at 7:15 a.m. EST (1215 GMT).
Associated: Info concerning the Worldwide House Station
This Cygnus automobile, named the SS Sally Experience after the well-known NASA astronaut, is carrying about 4.1 tons (3.7 metric tons) of scientific experiments and provides to the ISS — greater than another Cygnus has toted skyward.
The SS Sally Experience’s flight has not been completely clean: The freighter managed to deploy simply considered one of its two photo voltaic panels after liftoff. Its handlers say it could possibly make the journey to the ISS safely regardless, however mission groups shall be maintaining a watch out for any indicators of bother because it approaches the orbiting lab.
“Northrop Grumman is working intently with NASA to watch and assess the spacecraft forward of tomorrow’s deliberate arrival, seize and set up on the area station,” NASA officers mentioned in an replace (opens in new tab) on Tuesday night (Nov. 8). “Mission groups are also planning extra inspections of the cargo spacecraft throughout strategy and after seize.”
Three completely different robotic spacecraft ferry cargo to the ISS today: Cygnus, SpaceX’s Dragon capsule and Russia’s Progress automobile.
Cygnus and Progress expend in Earth’s ambiance after finishing their supply missions, however Dragon comes again for protected ocean splashdowns and future reuse.
Mike Wall is the creator of “Out There (opens in new tab)” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a guide concerning the seek for alien life. Observe him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in new tab). Observe us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or Fb (opens in new tab).
