Artists' impression of an Extended Cygnus; the spacecraft type to be used in the mission. | |
Mission type | ISS logistics |
---|---|
Operator | Northrop Grumman |
COSPAR ID | |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft type | Enhanced Cygnus |
Manufacturer |
|
Start of mission | |
Launch date | August 2022 (planned)[1] |
Rocket | Antares 230+ |
Launch site | Wallops Pad 0A |
Contractor | Northrop Grumman |
End of mission | |
Disposal | Deorbited |
Decay date | 2023 (planned) |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
Regime | Low Earth orbit |
Inclination | 51.66° |
Berthing at the International Space Station | |
Berthing port | Harmony or Unity |
Cygnus NG-18 mission patch |
NG-18 is the eighteenth planned flight of the Northrop Grumman robotic resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its sixteenth flight to the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-2) contract with NASA. The mission is planned for launch in August 2022.[1] This is the seventh launch of Cygnus under the CRS-2 contract.[2][3]
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 and a Service Module based on the Orbital GEOStar satellite bus.[4]
Cygnus NG-18 is the seventh Cygnus mission under the Commercial Resupply Services-2 contract. Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems confirmed on February 23, 2021 that Thales Alenia Space of Turin, Italy, will fabricate two additional Pressurized Cargo Modules (PCMs) for a pair of forthcoming Commercial Resupply Services-2 missions. Current plans are for the two additional Cygnus spacecraft to be designated NG-18 and NG-19.[5]
Production and integration of Cygnus spacecraft are 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.[4]
Main article: Cygnus (spacecraft) |
This will be the thirteenth flight of the Enhanced-sized Cygnus PCM.[3][6]
Cygnus spacecraft is loaded with 0 kg (0 lb) of research, hardware, and crew supplies.[7]
The new experiments arriving at the orbiting laboratory will inspire future scientists and explorers, and provide valuable insight for researchers.
NASA Glenn Research Center studies: [8][9]