A Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) early Monday after launching an Antares rocket from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Saturday Wallops Island, Virginia.
An astronaut deployed the Canadarm2 robotic arm to catch the spacecraft and link it with the Unity module, as is customary with arriving Cygnus supply ships.
NASA released images of Canadarm2 catching Cygnus as both the spacecraft and the ISS orbited Earth at a speed of roughly 17,000 mph. The robotic arm is shown cautiously stretching out to contact the newcomer in the video.
The Cygnus space freighter is pictured in the grip of the Canadarm2 robotic arm shortly after NASA astronaut Raja Chari captured it.
NASA, Northrop Gruman Launched Antares Rocket, Cygnus Cargo
NASA and Northrop Grumman recently launched the Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo ship to the International Space Station.
Under the parameters of NASA's Commercial Resupply Service-2 (CRS-2) contract, Northrop Grumman's 17th resupply mission (NG-17) to the International Space Station launched on Saturday (Feb. 19) with the Antares rocket and the Cygnus payload.
The launch took place on Virginia's Eastern Shore at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. Ground personnel was putting time-sensitive goods into the Cygnus cargo at the launch pad last Friday (Feb. 18), with the flight planned to lift off on Saturday.
The Cygnus cargo spacecraft was sent into space by NASA and Northrop Grumman to resupply astronauts on the International Space Station with supplies and research requirements.
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SpaceFlightNow said the Cygnus spacecraft would be connected to the station for three months. The supply ship will leave in May, flying a safe distance from the space station to conduct further experiments and install CubeSats before re-entering the atmosphere and exploding over the Pacific Ocean.
ISS Robotic Arm Catches SpaceCraft
The process was completed at 4:44 a.m. ET on Monday, with NASA astronaut Raja Chari controlling the robotic arm from within the station.
Digital Trends said ground orders were transmitted from Houston to the robotic arm, which rotated and installed Cygnus on the station's Unity module's Earth-facing port. It currently has five spacecraft onboard, including Cygnus-17 and a SpaceX Crew Dragon and Russia's Soyuz MS-19, Progress 79, and Progress 80.
In Northrop Grumman's 17th resupply trip, the Cygnus spacecraft delivered 8,300 pounds of scientific experiments and cargo to the orbiting outpost.
For example, a Colgate-Palmolive investigation aimed at testing potential products to protect aging skin, new hydrogen sensors that will be tested for the space station's oxygen generation system, and a study that will examine the effects of a drug on breast and prostate cancer cells will all be made possible by this latest mission.
The S.S. Piers Sellers Cygnus spacecraft is named after the late NASA astronaut who spent nearly 35 days on three trips working to build the space station.
Canadarm2 has been on board the International Space Station since 2001 when it was originally put into service. It can reach 58 feet (17.6 meters) when completely extended, with seven motorized joints for more adaptability.
The robotic arm made headlines when debris hit in 2021. But luckily, no severe damage was done.
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