The SS Sally Ride Cygnus spacecraft, developed by Northrop Grumman, launched on an Antares rocket on Monday from Wallops Island, Virginia. However, cargo delivery to the ISS crew ran into problems after one of its two solar arrays failed to deploy as planned. Despite the accident, Northrop Grumman worked with Nasa to ensure that Cygnus completed its primary mission of delivering approximately 3,700 kilograms of supplies, equipment and experiments for the astronauts to the station. Among the delivery were props needed for a spacewalk next week to expand the station’s power, as well as apples, blueberries, cheese, peanut butter and ice cream for the station’s seven-member crew in the US, Russia and Japan. “During a rocket stage separation event, debris from an Antares acoustic blanket fell into one of the Cygnus solar array mechanisms, preventing it from deploying,” said Cyrus Dhalla, vice president and general manager, tactical space systems at Northrop Grumman. “The successful docking was achieved thanks to Cygnus’ robust design and the resilience and ingenuity of the Nasa and Northrop Grumman teams.” If requested by Nasa, the resupply mission may also perform one or more relaunches to the ISS to help it maintain its orbit. Each Cygnus spacecraft is named in honor of an individual who has made significant contributions to the US space program and human spaceflight. For the latest mission, Cygnus honors the memory of former astronaut Dr Sally Ride – the first American woman in space. She flew on the second flight of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983. She also served as a mission specialist on STS-41G and was considered a leader in the Nasa community after her retirement. The SS Sally Ride will remain attached to the space station for about three months before departing with about 3700 kilograms of discard cargo. Last month, China launched the third module for its rival Tiangong space station, which is designed to allow scientists to conduct experiments in zero gravity. Subscribe to the E&T News email to get great stories like this delivered to your inbox every day.
