Posted on 08/12/2021 6:13:23 PM PDT by BenLurkin
After a 36 hour phasing profile, the S.S. Ellison Onizuka cargo ship, part of Northrop Grumman’s NG-16 mission, has arrived at the International Space Station (ISS). Safely in the grip of Canadarm2, Cygnus was attached to the nadir port of the Unity (Node-1) module for the multi-month cargo delivery and removal process.
Delivering a total of 3,723 kg of crew supplies, unpressurized cargo, science experiments, spacewalk equipment, station hardware, and computer equipment, the NG-16 mission is the fifth of six guaranteed flights to the station under the CRS2..
While only one flight, remains per the original CRS2 guarantee, NASA has already awarded Northrop Grumman two additional extension missions, NG-18 and NG-19 — all of which are set to be “Mission A” types.
ISS will not be in service forever. And while Axiom plans a commercial addition to the station in the coming years and an operational extension of ISS among the US, European Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to 2030 is highly likely, the day will come when the ISS will have to be retired.
In fact, Axiom has specifically designed its addition to the ISS to one day be capable of free-flying as its own independent station. In this way, Axiom can detach its modules en masse from the ISS before its end-of-life dive into Earth’s atmosphere and establish a continuous, no gap, station presence in low Earth orbit for the US.
Cygnus could also be contracted for free-flying, year-long science missions — a capability the craft previously demonstrated on the NG-11 mission after leaving the station following a successful cargo delivery.
The craft’s ability to host scientific experiments could ... allow it to serve as a temporary science module addition to future space stations while it delivers cargo as well
(Excerpt) Read more at nasaspaceflight.com ...
If it’s not SpaceX, it’s not news.
If it’s not SpaceX, it’s not news.
My cousin helped put that rocket in the air so that they could deliver food to the Space Station.
NASA selects Axiom Space to build commercial space station segment
by Tobias Corbett - January 27, 2020
The ISS is in segments, so there’s no real reason why the old segments cant be detached and trashed, leaving the newer segments.
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