Cape Canaveral, FL – August 4, 2024 — The Cygnus NG-21 mission, launched earlier today from Cape Canaveral, has encountered some unexpected challenges. According to a tweet on “X” by William Harwood:
“Mission control just alerted the ISS crew to a possible issue with the Cygnus cargo ship: “Just to let you guys know, good comm with Cygnus, we’re going to have solar array deploy in about an hour. The first two burns were not performed by Cygnus, so they are reassessing what is the current state of the burn plan. We’re hoping to still keep Tuesday (for capture by ISS), but we’ll re-assess once we figure out what went wrong with the first two burns.”
The mission faced issues with the first two burns not being performed as planned. According to the latest communication from CAPCOM, it appears that the burns were erroneously stopped. Despite this, the Cygnus team has confidence that the spacecraft’s engines are still fully operational. The focus is now on developing a new burn plan to correct the trajectory and achieve the planned capture by the ISS on Tuesday.
The ISS crew has been informed that the Cygnus team is actively working on the new burn plan. However, it is unlikely that the plan will be finalized before the crew’s sleep period. Mission control assured the crew that they would have the updated plan and next steps by the time they wake up.
Successful Liftoff Amidst Threatening Skys
The mostly cloudy skies above Cape Canaveral Space Force Station roared to life today as SpaceX successfully launched Northrop Grumman’s 21st Cygnus mission (NG-21) to the International Space Station (ISS). The launch took place at 11:02 AM ET from Launch Complex 40. This was the second attempt due to a scrub the following day. Initially scheduled for August 3, the launch was postponed due to unfavorable weather conditions caused by Tropical Cyclone Debby, with wind gusts reaching 40-50 mph. Today’s weather was predicted to be only 10% favorable but conditions allow the launch to take place before the weather deteriorated later in the afternoon.
Mission Overview
The NG-21 mission is a critical resupply mission for NASA, delivering scientific experiments, crew supplies, and hardware to the ISS. The Cygnus spacecraft, named S.S. Francis R. “Dick” Scobee in honor of the Challenger commander, carries a diverse array of payloads aimed at advancing research in microgravity.
Key Cargo Highlights
Among the experiments on board are:
- Water Recovery Technology: Testing innovative methods for recycling water in space, a crucial step for long-duration missions.
- Stem Cell Production: Researching the production of stem cells in microgravity, which could have significant implications for medical treatments on Earth.
- Microorganism DNA Studies: Investigating how spaceflight affects the DNA of microorganisms, contributing to our understanding of life sciences in space.
- Liver Tissue Growth: Experimenting with the growth of liver tissue in a microgravity environment, potentially leading to breakthroughs in organ transplantation and repair.
- Live Science Demonstrations for Students: Engaging educational content to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.
Launch Details
The launch utilized a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket, marking the tenth flight of its first stage booster, which previously supported several missions, including Ax-2, Euclid, and multiple Starlink launches. Following stage separation, the booster successfully landed at Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, a signature maneuver of SpaceX’s reusable rocket technology.
