Cygnus Cargo Spacecraft Set to Launch on Final Flight of Antares Rocket Version | CPT PPP Coverage

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A Cygnus cargo spacecraft is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) on the last flight of a version of an Antares rocket with Russian and Ukrainian components. NASA and Northrop Grumman have conducted a launch readiness review for the NG-19 mission and have approved plans to launch the spacecraft on August 1 at 8:31 p.m. Eastern time from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia. Weather forecasts predict an 80% chance of favorable conditions for liftoff.

The Cygnus spacecraft will be carrying approximately 3,750 kilograms of cargo to the ISS, including experiments, hardware, and crew supplies. If the launch proceeds as scheduled, the spacecraft is expected to arrive at the ISS early on August 4 and stay there for at least three months.

This will be the first Cygnus mission since the launch of NG-18 in November 2022. During the NG-18 mission, one of the two solar arrays on the Cygnus failed to deploy, but the spacecraft still completed its mission with the remaining array intact.

The failure of the solar array was due to debris that got lodged in the hinge, preventing it from unfolding. Northrop Grumman’s Vice President of Civil and Commercial Space, Steve Krein, stated that no redesign or modifications to the spacecraft were necessary.

The debris originated from acoustic blankets in the interstage portion of the Antares during stage separation. Corrective actions were implemented by Northrop Grumman to address this issue ahead of the NG-19 launch.

The NG-19 mission will be the final flight of the current version of the Antares rocket, known as Antares 230+. This version of the rocket uses a first stage manufactured by Ukraine’s Yuzhnoye State Design Office and Yuzhmash Machine Building plant, with RD-181 engines from Russian company NPO Energomash.

Northrop Grumman and Firefly Aerospace are partnering to develop a new version of the rocket, Antares 330, with a domestically manufactured first stage and engines. Critical design reviews have been completed for the structure of the first stage and Firefly’s Miranda engines, with system-level review and hot-fire tests scheduled for the future.

While the Antares 330 is in development, Northrop Grumman plans to launch three Cygnus missions on SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets. Despite the delay in introducing the new Antares version, the company does not anticipate purchasing additional Falcon 9 launches.

The Antares 330 offers increased payload performance, opening up new markets for Northrop Grumman. It also serves as a transition to a future rocket, the Medium Launch Vehicle, which will have an increased payload capacity of 16,000 kilograms. This will enable the company to address various markets, including NASA civil and DOD markets, as well as commercial and cargo resupply.