What happens when you use a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to launch the Northrop Grumman Cygnus supply ship? A record re -application mission at the International Space Station.
The first flight of the improved Cygnus spacecraft from Northrop, called Cygnus XL, is on the way to the international research laboratory after its launch Sunday evening from the Space Force station in Cape Canaveral, Florida. This mission, known as NG-23, should arrive at the ISS early Wednesday with 10,827 pounds (4,911 kilograms) of freight to support the laboratory and its crew of seven people.
By a significant margin, this is the heaviest freight burden transported to the ISS by a re -supply commercial mission. The NASA astronaut, Jonny Kim, will use the Canadian robotic arm of the space station to capture the cargo on Wednesday, then place it on an attachment port so that the crew members open the hatches and begin to unpack the goodies inside.
A bigger barrel
The Cygnus XL spacecraft is very similar to the previous missions of Northrop at the station. It has a service module manufactured at the company’s factory in northern Virginia. This segment of the space machine provides power, propulsion and other necessities to maintain cygnus operating in orbit.
The most important characteristics of the Cygnus cargo cargo cargo is its circular solar fan networks and an aluminum cylinder called pressure cargo module that looks like a barrel of beer. This is the element that distinguishes the XL cygnus from the previous versions of the Cygnus supply ship.
The cargo module is 5.2 feet (1.6 meters) more on the XL cygnus. The complete spaceship is about the size of two Apollo command modules, according to Ryan Tintner, vice-president of the civil space systems of Northrop Grumman. In other words, the volume of the freight section is equivalent to mini-duties and a half and a half.
“The most notable thing of this mission is that we start the Cygnus XL configuration of the spacecraft,” said Tintner. “It has a capacity of 33% more than the previous spatial cygnus. Obviously, the more can more seem better, but it is really essential because we can deliver much more science, as we can deliver much more cargo by launch, really trying to reduce the cost per kilogram to NASA.”
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket rises in orbit Sunday after its launch from the Cape Canaveral Cape Station, Florida, carrying a Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft from Northrop Grumman to the International Space Station.
Credit: Manuel Mazzanti / Nurphotto via Getty Images
The freight modules for the Northrop cygnus spaceships are built by Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy, using a design similar to that used for several permanent modules of the space station. Officials have advanced with the first Cygnus XL mission after the previous freight module was damaged during Italy shipping to the United States earlier this year.
