Northrop Grumman Cygnus Cargo Spacecraft Gears up for Engagement with International Space Station

On its route to the International Space Station, the Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo spacecraft had successfully implemented one of its two solar arrays and conducted four rendezvous burns. To keep the attention on the spacecraft's landing at the base, Northrop Grumman and NASA decided not to release the second solar array after early attempts failed.

The Cygnus crew is investigating why and how the second array failed to deploy as expected. Cygnus has enough power to meet with the space station on Wednesday, November 9. Northrop Grumman is collaborating with NASA to observe and examine the spacecraft in advance of its scheduled approach, including installation into the space station tomorrow, following NASA's press release.

Additionally, mission personnel intend to check the freight spacecraft throughout proximity and after capture. The rendezvous and the capture will be shown live on NASA TV at 3:30 a.m. EST, with installation coverage starting at 7:15 a.m. Expedition 68 NASA astronaut Nicole Mann might use the station's robotic arm to retrieve Cygnus at about 5:05 a.m., with NASA astronaut Josh Cassada as a backup. Following Cygnus capture, mission control at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Texas will send ground orders to the station's arm to spin and place it on the station's Unity module's Earth-facing port, as per a SciTechDaily report.

Prior Fails Before Successful Deployment

However, after the recent launch and Cygnus' detachment from the launcher, NASA disclosed that one of its two solar arrays failed to deploy. Circular arrays power the spaceship. At a press briefing this afternoon regarding planned spacewalks on the International Space Station, NASA's Dina Contella, ISS operations integration manager, acknowledged that the obstinate array had not launched.

She expressed optimism, based on a report that Northrop Grumman would resolve the issue when Cygnus reaches the ISS early on Wednesday morning. However, NASA is considering other options if that is not the case. Cygnus doesn't dock with the ISS but rather berths next to it. That meant the crew members on the ISS would utilize the robotic Canadarm2 and grasp or "grapple" Cygnus. Ground controllers subsequently take over the operation of the arm and dock the spaceship.

File photo of a Cygnus space freighter. — The Northrop Grumman Cygnus Cargo Spacecraft gears up for rendezvous with the International Space Station. NASA

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Cygnus as a Depending Factor in Future Works

Contella expressed fear about what may happen throughout the procedure. So, if [the array] is half deployed, it may jitter during capturing or berthing or come open. These are, therefore, the sorts of things we'll be performing, as well as risk assessments if required. Those preparations might need to change if Cygnus cannot dock at the ISS.

Northrop Grumman names each Cygnus cargo spaceship after pioneers of human spaceflight. This one is named after NASA astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. Sally Ride is acknowledged by having her name engraved on the Cygnus spacecraft utilized for her journey. The ride took part in STS-7 and STS-41G aboard the Challenger, two Space Shuttle operations. After the Challenger disaster in 1986, Ride additionally served on the Rogers Commission. She died in 2012 following pancreatic cancer, based on an earlier report from Science Times.