Cygnus NG-16

Cygnus NG-16, previously known as CRS OA-16, is the sixteenth planned flight of the Northrop Grumman robotic resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its fifteenth flight to the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-2) contract with NASA. The mission is planned to launch in July 2021.[1] This is the fifth launch of Cygnus under the CRS-2 contract.[2][3]

Cygnus NG-16
NamesCRS OA-16
Mission typeISS resupply
OperatorNASA
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeEnhanced Cygnus
ManufacturerNorthrop Grumman Innovation Systems
Thales Alenia Space
Start of mission
Launch dateJuly 2021 (planned) [1]
RocketAntares 230+
Launch siteMARS, LP-0A
ContractorNorthrop Grumman Innovation Systems
End of mission
DisposalDeorbited
Decay date2021 (planned)
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Inclination51.66°
Berthing at ISS
Berthing portHarmony or Unity
 

Orbital ATK (now Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems) and NASA jointly developed a new space transportation system to provide commercial cargo resupply services to the International Space Station (ISS). Under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, Orbital ATK designed, acquired, built, and assembled these components: Antares, a medium-class launch vehicle; Cygnus, an advanced spacecraft using a Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM) provided by industrial partner Thales Alenia Space and a Service Module based on the Orbital GEOStar satellite bus.[4]

History

Cygnus NG-16 is the fifth Cygnus mission under the Commercial Resupply Services-2 contract.

Production and integration of Cygnus spacecraft are performed in Dulles, Virginia. The Cygnus service module is mated with the pressurized cargo module at the launch site, and mission operations are conducted from control centers in Dulles, Virginia and Houston, Texas.[4]

Spacecraft
Main article: Cygnus (spacecraft)

This will be the eleventh flight of the Enhanced-sized Cygnus PCM.[5][3]

Manifest

Cygnus spacecraft is loaded with 0 kg (0 lb) of research, hardware, and crew supplies.[6]

  • Crew supplies: 0 kg (0 lb)
  • Science investigations: 0 kg (0 lb)
  • Spacewalk equipment: 0 kg (0 lb)
  • Vehicle hardware: 0 kg (0 lb)
  • Computer resources: 0 kg (0 lb)

SEOPS Slingshot Deployment System will deliver Cubesats to 500km orbit, after un-berthing from ISS in late 2021.[1][7]

Research

The new experiments arriving at the orbiting laboratory will inspire future scientists and explorers, and provide valuable insight for researchers.

NASA Glenn Research Center studies: [8]

See also

References
  1. SEOPS [@SEOPSLLC] (26 October 2020). "NG-16 is looking pretty good :) Scheduled for July 2021, our #Slingshot Deployer will be going up on NG-16 for an ABOVE station deployment! Click the link for our deployment process: ow.ly/MaEu50C3e63" (Tweet). Retrieved 29 October 2020 – via Twitter.
  2. Gebhardt, Chris (1 June 2018). "Orbital ATK looks ahead to CRS-2 Cygnus flights, Antares on the commercial market". NASASpaceflight.com. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  3. Clark, Stephen (1 October 2020). "Northrop Grumman "optimistic" to receive more NASA cargo mission orders". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  4. "Cygnus Spacecraft". Northrop Grumman. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  5. Leone, Dan (17 August 2015). "NASA Orders Two More ISS Cargo Missions From Orbital ATK". spacenews.com. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  6. "Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply". ISS Program Office. NASA. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  7. SEOPS staff (1 October 2020). "Slingshot Deployment Process". SEOPS LLC. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  8. "ISS Research Program". Glenn Research Center. NASA. 1 January 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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