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39-579: OA-9E was the tenth flight of the Cygnus , an uncrewed resupply spacecraft . The flight was launched by Orbital ATK (OA), which was purchased by Northrop Grumman during the mission. It was the ninth flight under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA and conducted under an extension, leading to the "E" in the mission name. The mission launched on 21 May 2018 at 08:44:06 UTC . Orbital and NASA jointly developed

78-569: A further enlarged Mission B version of Cygnus, with a 1.5 m (4.9 ft) stretch to the payload module and payload mass increased to 5,000 kg (11,000 lb). This version is expected to enter service with the NG-23 mission in 2025 (the first to use the new Antares 330 launch vehicle). In August 2019, NASA decided to sole source its design for the Minimal Habitation Module (Habitation and Logistics Outpost, or HALO) of

117-458: A gross mass of 1,800 kg (4,000 lb), 32 thrusters for attitude control and one BT-4 main engine fuelled with 800 kg (1,800 lb) of hypergolic propellants, hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide . The SM is capable of producing up to 4 kW of electrical power via two solar arrays. The PCM is manufactured by Thales Alenia Space in Turin , Italy. The first "Standard" PCMs had

156-400: A length of 5.14 meters (16.9 ft), a payload capacity of 2,000 kilograms (4,400 lb), and a pressurized cargo volume of 18.9 cubic metres (670 cu ft). The fourth and all subsequent Cygnus spacecraft are the "Enhanced" variant. These have a stretched PCM with a length of 6.39 meters (21.0 ft), a payload capacity of 3,500 kilograms (7,700 lb), an increase of 32%, and

195-415: A new propulsion. The Antares system will be upgraded with newly built RD-181 first-stage engines to provide greater payload performance and increased reliability. In the meantime, the company had contracted with United Launch Alliance for an Atlas V launch of CRS OA-4 in late 2015 from Cape Canaveral , Florida , with a second Atlas V Cygnus launch in 2016. The company had planned Cygnus missions for

234-635: A new space transportation system to provide commercial cargo resupply services to the International Space Station. Under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, then Orbital Sciences designed and built Antares , a medium-class launch vehicle; Cygnus , an advanced maneuvering spacecraft, and a Pressurized Cargo Module which is provided by Orbital's industrial partner Thales Alenia Space . The COTS demonstration mission

273-408: A payload mass simulator to low Earth orbit on April 21, 2013. On September 18, 2013, Antares successfully launched a Cygnus spacecraft on a flight test to rendezvous with the International Space Station. On 12 January 2014, the first scheduled Cygnus resupply mission arrived at the space station; the capsule carried Christmas presents and fresh fruit for the astronauts. Its arrival was delayed, first by

312-409: A pressurized cargo volume of 27 cubic metres (950 cu ft), an increase of 19.5%. To launch the added weight, Orbital used the more powerful Castor 30XL solid-fuel rocket as a second-stage. Starting in mid-2025, a further enlarged "Mission B" Cygnus will be introduced with a length of 7.89 meters (25.9 ft), a payload capacity of 5,000 kilograms (11,000 lb), an increase of 19.5%, and

351-584: A pressurized cargo volume of 36 cubic metres (1,300 cu ft), an increase of 15.5%. During a typical CRS missions, Cygnus maneuvers close to the International Space Station, where the Canadarm2 robotic arm grapples the spacecraft and berths it to a Common Berthing Mechanism , typically the nadir port of the Unity module . Cygnus does not provide cargo return capability. However, it can be loaded with obsolete equipment and trash which will burn up as

390-695: A service module based on Orbital's Star Bus , a satellite bus in use since 1997, which would be attached to a pressurized cargo module built by Thales Alenia Space , which had also built the MPLM cargo module used by the Space Shuttle, the cargo module for the European ATV spacecraft and several permanent modules on the ISS. Cygnus was awarded a COTS contract worth $ 170 million in February 2008, which

429-514: A slow process of satellite separation from the ISS. The Nanoracks External Platform (NREP), installed in August 2016, is a commercial gateway-and-return to the extreme environment of space. Following the CubeSat form factor, payloads experience the microgravity, radiation and other harsh elements native to the space environment, observe earth, test sensors, materials, and electronics, and can return

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468-556: Is able to fly on other launch vehicles. After the failure of an Antares rocket destroyed Cygnus CRS Flight 3 and damaged the Wallops facility, two Cygnus missions were launched with Atlas V rockets in 2015 and 2016. Additionally, two Cygnus missions have launched on the Falcon 9 rocket in 2024 with one more scheduled to launch in 2025, operated by CRS competitor SpaceX . In addition to Cygnus, ISS resupply missions have been flown by

507-796: Is an American private in-space services company which builds space hardware and in-space repurposing tools. The company also facilitates experiments and launches of CubeSats to Low Earth Orbit . Nanoracks's main office is in Houston , Texas . The business development office is in Washington, D.C. , and additional offices are located in Abu Dhabi , United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Turin , Italy .[6][7] Nanoracks provides tools, hardware and services that allow other companies, organizations and governments to conduct research and other projects in space. Nanoracks currently helps facilitate science on

546-532: Is planned to be launched on the Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40 , and three from Wallops on an Antares 330 . Cygnus is the only cargo freighter to launch on four different launch vehicles: the Antares 100 series , Atlas V , Antares 200 series and Falcon 9 Block 5 . Each mission is named for a notable member of the Human spaceflight community. Nanoracks Nanoracks LLC

585-610: Is the ninth of ten flights by Orbital ATK under the Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA , and it is considered an extension over the originally contracted flights. This is the sixth flight of the Enhanced sized Cygnus PCM. The mission launched on 21 May 2018. In an Orbital ATK tradition, this Cygnus spacecraft was named the S.S. J.R. Thompson after the former president and chief executive officer at Orbital Sciences Corp. who died in 2017. Thompson served in multiple management positions at Orbital, overseeing development of

624-655: The Commercial Resupply Services-2 (CRS-2 contract) enters in effect, and thus the "E" indicates that it actually is an extension above the originally contracted payload transport. Production and integration of Cygnus spacecraft is 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 . This

663-551: The International Space Station in multiple ways and built the Bishop Airlock to launch payloads from the International Space Station . As part of a Series A funding round XO Markets Holdings Inc. was formed as a holding company for NanoRacks, LLC. As of 2021, Nanoracks is the largest subsidiary of X.O. Markets. In 2021 Voyager Space Holdings acquired a majority stake in X.O. Markets. Nanoracks

702-540: The International Space Station on SpaceX CRS-21 on 6 December 2020. The module was built by Nanoracks, Thales Alenia Space , and Boeing . It will be used to deploy CubeSats , small satellites , and other external payloads for NASA , Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), and other commercial and governmental customers. Nanoracks facilities on the International Space Station (ISS) include

741-620: The Japanese Kibō module . This deployment was done using the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (J-SSOD). By 2015, Nanoracks had deployed 64 satellites into low Earth orbit , and had 16 satellites on the ISS awaiting deployment, with an order backlog of 99. The company also announced an agreement to fly a Chinese DNA experiment from the Beijing Institute of Technology on

780-558: The Lunar Gateway to Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, which offered a minimalist 6.1 m (20 ft) by 3 m (9.8 ft) design based directly on the Enhanced Cygnus, as well as a larger 7 m (23 ft) by 4.4 m (14 ft) design having radial docking ports, body-mounted radiators (BMRs), batteries and communications antennas added on the outside. Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems opted to build

819-596: The Antares rocket and other vehicles in the company's launcher family. NASA contracted for the CRS OA-9E mission from Orbital ATK and therefore determined the primary payload, date/time of launch, and orbital parameters for the Cygnus space capsule . CRS OA-9E carried a total of 3,350 kg (7,390 lb) of material into orbit. This includes 3,268 kg (7,205 lb) of pressurised cargo with packaging bound for

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858-693: The Cygnus makes a destructive reentry . An earlier proposed version of Cygnus would have replaced the PCM with the Unpressurized Cargo Module (UCM), based on NASA's ExPRESS Logistics Carrier , and would have been used to transport unpressurized cargo, such as ISS Orbital Replacement Units . Another proposed variant would have replaced the PCM with the Return Cargo Module (RCM), which would have allowed Cygnus to return cargo to Earth. In August 2023, Northrop Grumman announced

897-551: The ISS is provided to Nanoracks by NASA under a contractual lease arrangement. Nanoracks deploys small CubeSats into orbit from the ISS through the Nanoracks CubeSat Deployer via the airlock in the Japanese Kibō module , after the satellites are transported to the ISS on a cargo spacecraft. When released, the small satellites are provided a push of about 1 m/s (3.3 ft/s) that begins

936-444: The ISS via a Commercial Resupply Vehicle. These satellites are deployed after the completion of the primary cargo delivery mission and can fly at 500 kilometers above Earth and ca. 100 kilometers above the ISS and extends the life of CubeSats already deployed in low-Earth orbit. The Cygnus Deployer holds a total volume of 36U and adds approximately two years to the lifespan of these satellites. E-NRCSD missions: Mars Demo-1 (OMD-1)

975-634: The International Space Station, and 82 kg (181 lb) of unpressurised cargo. The unpressurised cargo consists of a Nanoracks deployer and six CubeSats which will be released after Cygnus unberths from the ISS. The following is a breakdown of cargo bound for the ISS: Cygnus (spacecraft) Cygnus is typically launched using its parent company's Antares rocket from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virgina, however it

1014-560: The International Space Station. The agreement includes Nanoracks delivering the experiment to the American side of the ISS in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and berthing the experiment to Nanoracks' orbiting laboratory facilities, then sending data back to the Chinese researchers. In 2022, Nanoracks became the first company to cut a piece of metal in space. The Nanoracks Bishop Airlock is a commercially -funded airlock module launched to

1053-605: The Plate Reader-2 – a Molecular Devices SpectraMax M5e modified for space flight and the microgravity environment. This spectrophotometer analyzes samples by shining light (200-1000 nm) either on or through the top or bottom of each sample in the well of a microplate . The Nanoracks Plate Reader-2 can accommodate cuvettes in special microplate holders as well as 6-, 12-, 24-, 48-, 96-, and 384-well microplates. It can operate in absorbance , fluorescence intensity , or fluorescence polarization modes. Laboratory space on

1092-867: The Russian Progress spacecraft , the European Automated Transfer Vehicle , the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle and the American SpaceX Dragon . Cygnus is the Greek word for swan and the name of a constellation . After the retirement of the Space Shuttle was announced, NASA began to look for commercial space launch companies who could fly cargo to the ISS. In early 2006, the agency started its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, where it would help fund

1131-500: The Space Florida International Space Station (ISS) Research Competition. As part of this program, Nanoracks and DreamUp provide research NanoLab box units to fly payloads to the ISS, with scientific research to be conducted on board the U.S. National Laboratory. In October 2013, Nanoracks became the first company to coordinate the deployment of small satellites from the ISS via the airlock in

1170-532: The development of cargo spacecraft after a competitive process. SpaceX and Rocketplane Kistler won contracts in the COTS program, however Rocketplane Kistler failed to meet several financial milestones and on 18 October 2007, NASA announced it would terminate its contract and re-award it after a second competition. Orbital Sciences Corporation participated in this second round, proposing a largely "off-the-shelf" design. The spacecraft, named Cygnus, would be built around

1209-704: The extra capabilities of the Atlas allowed payload to be increased to 3,500 kg (7,700 lb). The Cygnus spacecraft consists of two basic components: the Service Module (SM) and the Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM). The SM was based on prior products developed by Orbital including the GEOStar and LEOStar (collectively known as Star Bus ) satellite buses and the Dawn spacecraft . It has

Cygnus OA-9E - Misplaced Pages Continue

1248-410: The first ( CRS OA-5 ), second ( CRS OA-6 ) and fourth quarters ( CRS OA-7 ) of 2016. Two of which flew on the new Antares 230 and one on the aforementioned second Atlas V. These three missions enabled Orbital ATK to cover their initial CRS contracted payload obligation. This particular mission, known as CRS OA-9E, is part of an extension program that will enable NASA to cover the ISS resupply needs until

1287-675: The first stage was subcontracted to Ukrainian companies and used refurbished NK-33 engines, remnants of the Soviet N1 moon rocket. The second stage was the Castor 30 , which Orbital had previously used on another rocket project (the Minotaur-C ) and was based on a Peacekeeper ICBM first stage. The first Cygnus flight was originally planned to occur in December 2010, but was repeatedly delayed. The Antares made its maiden flight lifting

1326-687: The minimalist design, which offered the advantage of component compatibility and expedited testing of life support systems on existing Cygnus spacecraft. On 5 June 2020, NASA awarded Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems a $ 187 million contract to complete the preliminary design of HALO. NASA will sign a separate contract with Northrop for the fabrication of the HALO, and for integration with the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE), being built by Maxar . The following list includes only missions that have flown and six planned missions. As of August 2024 one more mission

1365-464: The need to repair the station, and then by frigid weather at the launch site and solar flares that forced postponements. With the December 2015 launch of Orb CRS-4 on Atlas V, the enhanced version of Cygnus made its debut. While it was planned from the beginning to fly on the fifth mission, the Orb CRS-3 failure and subsequent move to Atlas V meant a delay. However, lessons learned on packing and

1404-578: The payload to Earth. The Nanoracks Kaber Microsat Deployer is a reusable system that allows the International Space Station to control and command satellite deployments. It can deploy microsatellites up to 82 kg into space. Microsatellites that are compatible with the Kaber Deployer have additional power, volume, and communication resources, which allows for deployments of higher scope and sophistication. The satellite deployment service enabled satellites to be deployed at an altitude higher than

1443-600: Was founded in 2009 by Jeffrey Manber and Charles Miller to provide commercial hardware and services for the U.S. National Laboratory on board the International Space Station via a Space Act Agreement with NASA . Nanoracks signed their first contract with NASA in September 2009 and had their first laboratory on the Space Station in April 2010. In August 2012, Nanoracks partnered with Space Florida to host

1482-552: Was later increased to $ 288 million. On 23 December 2008, NASA awarded Orbital Sciences a $ 1.9 billion contract under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program. Under this contract, Orbital Sciences agreed to deliver up to 20 tons of cargo to the ISS through 2016 in eight Cygnus spacecraft flights. To propel Cygnus into space, Orbital developed the Antares rocket , which also leveraged lower-cost, off-the-shelf parts and designs. Construction and design of

1521-486: Was successfully conducted in September 2013, and Orbital commenced operational ISS cargo missions under the Commercial Resupply Service (CRS) program with two missions in 2014. Regrettably, the third operational mission, Orb CRS-3 , resulted was not successful due to spectacular Antares failure during launch. The company decided to discontinue the Antares 100 series and accelerate the introduction of

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