Cygnus NG-15

NG-15
Canadarm2 approaches the S.S. Katherine Johnson
NamesCRS NG-15
CRS OA-15 (2016–2018)
Mission typeISS resupply
OperatorNorthrop Grumman
COSPAR ID2021-013A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.47689Edit this on Wikidata
WebsiteNG-15
Mission duration131 days, 7 hours, 53 minutes
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftS.S. Katherine Johnson
Spacecraft typeEnhanced Cygnus
Manufacturer
Start of mission
Launch date20 February 2021, 17:36:50 (20 February 2021, 17:36:50) UTC (12:36:50 pm EST)[1]
RocketAntares 230+
Launch siteMARS, Pad 0A
End of mission
DisposalDeorbited
Decay date2 July 2021, 01:30 (2 July 2021, 01:30) UTC
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Inclination51.63°
Berthing at ISS
Berthing portUnity nadir[2]
RMS capture22 February 2021, 09:38 UTC [3]
Berthing date22 February 2021, 12:16 UTC[3]
Unberthing date29 June 2021, 13:20 UTC
RMS release29 June 2021, 16:32 UTC [4]
Time berthed127 days, 1 hour, 4 minutes
Cargo
Mass3,810 kg (8,400 lb)
Pressurised3,734 kg (8,232 lb)
Unpressurised76 kg (168 lb)

NASA insignia
← NG-14
NG-16 →

Cygnus NG-15,[1][5][6] previously known as OA-15, was the fifteenth launch of the Northrop Grumman robotic resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its fourteenth flight to the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA. The mission launched on 20 February 2021 at 17:36:50 UTC.[1][7] This is the fourth launch of Cygnus under the CRS-2 contract.[8][9]

Orbital ATK (now Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems) 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 Services (COTS) program, Orbital ATK designed, acquired, built, and assembled these components: Antares, a medium-class launch vehicle; Cygnus, an advanced spacecraft using a Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM) provided by industrial partner Thales Alenia Space of Turin, Italy, and a Service Module based on the Orbital GEOStar satellite bus.[10]

  1. ^ a b c "Antares rocket launches heavy cargo load to International Space Station". Spaceflight Now. 20 February 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  2. ^ "NASA TV Coverage Set for Next Cargo Launch to Space Station". NASA. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ a b "Cygnus Resupply Ship Bolted to Station's Unity Module". NASA. 22 February 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ^ "Cygnus supply ship departs space station after four-month mission". Spaceflight Now. 29 June 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference NG-15cargo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference NG-20210201 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Powers, Kelly. "Worm muscles, artificial retinas, space laptops: NASA Wallops launches rocket to ISS". Dover Post. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference ng2018-news was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference NG-20210126 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference ngcygnus-fs2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).