Wallops Island, Virginia, USA—NASA and Northrop Grumman are working together to launch a cargo compartment to the International Space Station (ISS) today (February 20). You can watch this online action.
The Cygnus NG-15 spacecraft will explode from a two-stage Antares rocket on pad 09A at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia at 12:36 pm Eastern Time (17361736 GMT).
You can Watch the live broadcast on Space.com, Provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Television, starting at 1
related: Private Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft explained (infographic)
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Northrop Grumman (Northrop Grumman) is one of NASA’s commercial partners. As part of the agency’s commercial cargo replenishment program, the space station maintains an adequate supply of supplies. The silver spacecraft carried a weight of 8,200 pounds. (3,700 kg) Expedition 64 crew supplies, hardware and research experiments.
After liftoff, Cygnus will deploy 30 small “tulles” as part of the Virginia Commercial Aviation Administration’s student program. It will then conduct a two-day space pursuit after the International Space Station (ISS). Once arrived, the spacecraft will be parked at the orbital post with the help of the Canadarm2 robotic arm at the station.
Northrop Grumman (Northrop Grumman) built both rockets and spacecraft, and the contractor’s tradition is to name each cargo bay after an individual who has made a significant contribution to human spaceflight.For this mission, Cygnus Appointed as SS Katherine Johnson, The mathematician’s calculations helped John Glenn become the first American to enter the earth’s orbit, which came out in 1962. SS Katherine Johnson (SS Katherine Johnson) will conduct her own flight today, 59 years later.
Johnson (Johnson) moved to NASA’s Space Mission Group at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia after the agency was formally established in 1958 before serving as a man-machine at NASA’s predecessor, the National Aviation Advisory Committee (NACA). At the age of 101 February 24, 2020.
NASA officials said at a pre-launch press conference on Friday (February 19) that SS Catherine Johnson will continue to maintain contact with the space station for about three months. At the end of the mission, the astronauts of the space station will load garbage and other disposable materials into it, and then send them out to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere in a destructive manner. (The freighter will burn in the atmosphere and pose no threat to anyone on earth.)
This week’s winter blizzard swept through most of the United States, including Texas and Virginia, but NASA’s teams in Wallops and Texas (some of which do not have water or electricity) were able to cope with the challenges posed by the blizzard to ensure The task can start.
Joel Montalbano, NASA’s International Space Station Program Manager, said: “I want to thank my Texas colleagues who have been without water and electricity this week.” “There are also people operating at the Johnson Space Center who ensure the mission. The control system keeps running.”
Before launching on Saturday, the team conducted a mission outfit exercise. During this period, the launch commander made the launch team arrange the launch team at its own pace and under different nominal conditions to prevent the launching sunrise problem. Then on Tuesday (February 16), the rocket and spacecraft slid to the ground and performed some system checks.
On Thursday, the research team lowered the rocket to a horizontal position in order to open the last-minute payload for the spacecraft. These are time-sensitive payloads (such as payloads that deal with biological sciences) and cannot be placed inside a cargo ship for too long.
Kurt Eberly of Northrop Grumman said this is a new feature of the Antares rocket, which was added specifically to the company’s second commercial supply service contract (CRS-2) signed with NASA. The rocket now flies in what the company calls a 230+ configuration, which means it now has a late load capacity and a varying cargo quality.
related: Watch the amazing launch photos of Antares and Cygnus NG-13!
The weather forecaster predicted 75% chance The weather on Saturday was good. The main concern is surface wind and cumulus clouds. If needed, there are several alternate launch opportunities. The first is on Sunday (February 21) Eastern Time at 12:14 PM Eastern Time (1714 GMT).
Eberly said the mission does have wind and temperature restrictions, because if the temperature is below 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-7 degrees Celsius) and the ground wind speed exceeds 29 knots, the rocket will not be able to launch. The person responsible for overseeing the Wallops mission said that the weather should be within acceptable limits on the launch day.
“We are honored to be part of another commercial supply mission,” Wallops’ director of range and mission management Shannon Fitzpatrick said at a briefing last Friday. “The scope is green, all systems are nominal, and we look forward to a beautiful launch in the afternoon.”
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