Cygnus NG-11

NG-11
Canadarm2 grapples the S.S. Roger Chaffee, while Dragon C108 is docked to Harmony.
Names OA-11 (2016–2018)
Mission type ISS logistics
Operator Northrop Grumman
COSPAR ID 2019-022A
SATCAT no. 44188
Mission duration 232 days, 18 hours, 42 minutes
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft S.S. Roger Chaffee
Spacecraft type Enhanced Cygnus
Manufacturer
Start of mission
Launch date 17 April 2019, 20:46:07 UTC
Rocket Antares 230
Launch site Wallops Pad 0A
Contractor Northrop Grumman
End of mission
Disposal Deorbited
Decay date 6 December 2019, 15:28 UTC
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric orbit
Regime Low Earth orbit
Inclination 51.66°
Berthing at the International Space Station
Berthing port Unity nadir
RMS capture 19 April 2019, 09:28 UTC
Berthing date 19 April 2019, 11:31 UTC
Unberthing date 6 August 2019, 13:30 UTC
RMS release 6 August 2019, 16:15 UTC
Time berthed 109 days, 1 hour, 59 minutes
Cargo
Mass 3,436 kg (7,575 lb)
Pressurised 3,162 kg (6,971 lb)
Unpressurised 239 kg (527 lb)

NASA insignia
 

NG-11, previously known as OA-11, is the twelfth flight of the Northrop Grumman robotic resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its eleventh flight to the International Space Station under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) contract with NASA. The mission launched on 17 April 2019 at 20:46:07 UTC. This is the last mission from the extended CRS-1 (phase 1) contract; follow-up missions are part of the CRS-2 contract. Cygnus NG-11 was also the first mission to load critical hardware onto Cygnus within the last 24 hours prior to launch, a new Antares feature.

Orbital ATK and NASA jointly developed a new space transportation system to provide commercial cargo resupply services to the International Space Station (ISS). Under the Commercial Orbital Transportation System (COTS) program, then Orbital Sciences designed and built Antares, a medium-class launch vehicle; Cygnus, an advanced maneuvering spacecraft, and a Pressurized Cargo Module which is provided by Orbital's industrial partner Thales Alenia Space. Northrop Grumman purchased Orbital in June 2018; its ATK division was renamed Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems.

Concurrently, Nepalese satellite NepaliSat-1 and Sri Lankan satellite Raavana 1 were launched as part of Cygnus NG-11 as deployable payloads.

Northrop Grumman launches the Cygnus NG-11 mission.

History

Cygnus NG-11 is part of an extension program that enables NASA to cover the ISS resupply needs until the Commercial Resupply Services 2 contract enters in effect. The mission launched on 17 April 2019, at 20:46:07 UTC from Wallops Island, Virginia.

Spacecraft

Production and integration of Cygnus spacecraft is performed in Dulles, Virginia. The Cygnus service module is mated with the pressurized cargo module at the launch site, and mission operations are conducted from control centers in Dulles, Virginia and Houston, Texas. This will be the eighth flight of the Enhanced-sized Cygnus PCM.

The spacecraft for the NG-11 is named the S.S. Roger Chaffee after Roger Chaffee who lost his life during training for the Apollo 1 mission. On 17 April 2019 at 20:46:07 UTC, Antares launched the NG-11 mission to the International Space Station from Wallops Island, Virginia.

Manifest

Total weight of cargo: 3,436 kg (7,575 lb), consisting of 3,162 kg (6,971 lb) in pressurized cargo and 229 kg (505 lb) in unpressurized cargo.

  • Crew supplies: 987 kg (2,176 lb)
  • Science investigations: 1,569 kg (3,459 lb)
  • Spacewalk equipment: 24 kg (53 lb)
  • Vehicle hardware: 628 kg (1,385 lb)
  • Computer resources: 4.5 kg (9.9 lb)
  • Northrop Grumman-related equipment: 35 kg (77 lb)

Smallsats deployed during NG-11:

New hardware, known as the Thermal Amine Scrubber, the first Exploration ECLSS Tech Demonstration aboard ISS, which will be activated in April 2019 and scrub additional CO2 from the ISS atmosphere.

See also