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The Cygnus cargo ship that has to go to the International Space Station (ISS) is complete and ready to go. But it seems that astronauts aboard the orbital outpost will have to wait another day before they can get their hands on the goods delivered by Northrop Grumman.
Although originally scheduled for the departure of the ISS on November 15, the Cygnus satellite will remain immobilized until Friday due to bad weather, the US space company announced. Twitter.
The freighter was scheduled to take off from NASA's Wallops flight facility, bright and early tomorrow morning at 4:49 am EST. Instead, the trip into space was delayed by 24 hours.
Northrop Grumman and NASA are now targeting an early morning space flight on November 16, with a five-minute launch window opening at 4:23 am EST. As expected, the Cygnus freighter will take off in space at the top of a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket, taking off from Virginia Space's Mid-Atlantic Atlantic regional spaceport.
This is the company's tenth replenishment mission to the space station – the previous one was launched at the end of May – with a delay of 24 hours Inquisitr at the time. Loaded with 7,500 kilos of research supplies, crew and equipment – the Cygnus Space Shuttle will arrive at the ISS three days after its launch, NASA announced last week.
Once completed, the freighter will be captured by the station's robotic arm, Canadarm2, and will be assigned a parking space in the Unity module – the second element of the orbiting laboratory launched into space there. at 20 years. as the Inquisitr recently detailed.
LAUNCH UPDATE: Due to adverse weather conditions, @northropgrummanLaunch of cargo at @Space station has been postponed for 24 hours. The launch is now scheduled for 4:23 ET on Friday, November 16th of our @NASA_Wallops Easy flying. For the latest updates, look at https://t.co/oE3arY3dOM pic.twitter.com/v9aPLLzWfa
– NASA (@NASA) November 14, 2018
"Expedition 57 Flight Engineer Serena Aunon, Chancellor of NASA, will attack the spacecraft using the station's robotic arm. She will be assisted by Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency), who will oversee the Cygnus systems during his approach. After the capture, the ground controllers will order the robotic arm to rotate and install Cygnus at the bottom of the station's Unity module, "NASA officials said in a statement.
Delivery of ice cream and star dust
Nicknamed CRS-10, Cygnus' current mission will provide an exciting array of scientific experiments to the ISS.
"The cargo of the craft includes several tons of crew supplies and scientific experiments ranging from 3D printing to recycling to simulation of the creation of celestial bodies from star dust," reported NASA at the beginning of the month.
Among the experiments conducted in space is a project focused on the growth of large crystals of a special type of protein involved in the development of Parkinson's disease. Known as the CASIS PCG-16 investigation, this experiment "could help scientists better understand the pathology of the disease and develop treatments to treat it," NASA said.
Artistic representation of the Cygnus commercial spacecraft.
Raymond Cassel
/
Shutterstock
Another project currently stored in the cargo hold of the Cygnus spacecraft is a fake star dust shipment. The experiment is called EXCISS and aims to reveal some of the mysteries of the ancient solar system by studying simulated star dust in a high-energy, low-gravity environment, in accordance with the conditions prevailing at the birth of our planets .
Other scientific experiments about to move into space include a virtual reality study of how sensory inputs alter microgravity, a study of calcium-silica membranes that can be used to remove carbon dioxide from waste gases – and thus limit greenhouse gas emissions – and a project that studies cement solidification in the space, with the ultimate goal of creating 'safer space habitats' and light "for future missions on other planets.
3D printing, virtual reality, simulated stardust and more in orbit labs pic.twitter.com/vjHXDnzuQ5
– Science Facts (@SCLENCEFACTS) November 14, 2018
Last but not least – Cygnus sends an integrated 3D printer and a rebreather into space. This will be the first unit of this type to be shipped to the ISS.
"It recycles plastic waste in a high-quality 3D printer filament, which could allow for the long-term manufacture, repair and recycling of long-duration space missions," NASA said.
But not all objects loaded into the Cygnus capsule are reserved for work. Northrop Grumman has prepared a little surprise for the astronauts – and sends them a supply of fresh fruit and ice cream, according to a Twitter to post.
Once Cygnus delivers the goods and completes its mission to the ISS, the cargo ship should deploy three CubeSats above and below the space station – "a first for the spacecraft," said Northrop Grumman in a separate statement. Twitter to post.
At the end of the mission, the Cygnus Space Shuttle – christened S. John Young, in honor of the late astronaut – will return home with a load of waste from the ISS. Since the capsule is not designed to be reusable, as previously reported Inquisitr, Cygnus will burn in the Earth's atmosphere at the start of the school year – by getting rid of its cargo and performing another service at the space station.
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