Solar Arrays Deployed, Cygnus Powered Up for Space Delivery

The solar arrays have successfully deployed on Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft that is on its way to deliver about 8,200 pounds of science and research, crew supplies, and hardware to the International Space Station. This is the company’s 12th contracted cargo resupply mission with NASA.

This mission, designated NG-12, will be in orbit at the same time as its predecessor, the NG-11 Cygnus spacecraft, which launched in April on an extended duration flight. The NG-12 Cygnus spacecraft will remain at the space station until January before it disposes of several thousand pounds of trash through its fiery reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. The ability to fly two vehicles at once further demonstrates the robustness of Cygnus to support the goals of NASA’s ambitious missions.

Coverage of the spacecraft’s approach and arrival to the orbiting laboratory will begin Monday, Nov. 4 at 2:45 a.m. on NASA Television and the agency’s website. Expedition 61 astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch of NASA will use the space station’s robotic arm to capture Cygnus at around 4:10 a.m., while NASA’s Andrew Morgan monitors telemetry. The spacecraft is scheduled to stay at the space station until January.

Meanwhile, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) flight controllers at Tsukuba, Japan are preparing to deorbit the HTV-8 cargo vehicle tonight, with the final deorbit maneuver expected around 8:33pm Central time, 9:33pm Eastern time. HTV-8 will enter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up harmlessly over the south Pacific.

Follow the Cygnus spacecraft’s arrival to the orbiting laboratory on the space station blog and by following @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.