The Cygnus spacecraft is named in honor of astronaut John You

FLIGHT INSTALLATION OF WALLOPSNorthland Grumman has announced the name of its newest Cygnus spacecraft, according to NASA's oldest astronaut, John Young.

The Cygnus Space Shuttle, known as S. John Young, is to be launched aboard the company's Antares rocket on Thursday, November 15 at 16:50 EDT. of NASA's Wallops flight installation.

S / S John Young will deliver vital supplies and scientific equipment to the space station as part of NGIS 'commercial replenishment service contract with NASA.

To date, NASA has announced that Cygnus spacecraft have delivered more than 23,000 kilograms of cargo to the International Space Station and removed 17,000 kilograms of disposable cargo.

The Cygnus team would provide essential support to the crew aboard the in-orbit laboratory through missions such as NG-10.

Cygnus will now be ready to refuel and charge extra freight.

Once the spacecraft is fully ready for launch, it will be moved to the horizontal integration center where it will be coupled with the Antares rocket.

According to NASA, Young was the oldest astronaut in the space agency and a pioneer in the field of manned flights. It allowed future astronauts to live and work on the International Space Station.

About John Young

John Watts Young was born in San Francisco and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering with honors from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

After graduating, Young entered the United States Navy where he served on board the USS LAWS during the Korean War, before being posted to the Navy's Air Test Center.

Young would set record time records before retiring as a US Navy captain after 25 years of active service.

Young joined NASA in September 1962 and began his career with Gemini's first crewed mission, Gemini 3. Young was then commander of Gemini 10.

He was the pilot of the Apollo 10 command module, which gravitated around the moon and completed a lunar rendezvous.

NASA stated that this mission facilitated his subsequent lunar exploration as commander of the Apollo 16 ship.

He then commissioned STS-1, the Space Shuttle's first mission, to test the Columbia Orbiter.

Young makes his final flight as a spacecraft commander of STS-9, Spacelab's first mission.

In ten days, the six-person crew conducted more than 70 experiments and provided more scientific and technical data than any previous Apollo and Skylab combined missions.

This concluded his 835 hours in space, but that did not end his distinguished service at NASA. Young was named chief of the Space Shuttle branch, then chief of the astronaut bureau, before retiring in 2004.

Young passed away on January 5, 2018.

NASA attributes its "work of precedent" to the possibility for humans to live aboard the International Space Station.

The continued presence of the station has resulted in cargo requirements that NASA's Cygnus spacecraft replenishment missions are continuously meeting.

According to NASA's statement, "Young's courage and his many firsts" pushed the boundaries of the exploration of the human space, making him an ideal candidate for the NG-10 mission.