Northrop Grumman launched a Cygnus spacecraft filled with NASA supplies (and some tasty treats) to the International Space Station Saturday (Feb. 15) in an afternoon liftoff that had some impeccable timing.
An Antares rocket (also built by Northrop Grumman) launched the uncrewed Cygnus NG-13 spacecraft at 3:21 p.m. EST (2043 GMT) — that’s “3-2-1” for a liftoff time — from Pad-0A of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility.
“Awesome launch today,” Joel Montalbano, NASA’s deputy program manager for the International Space Station, said just after launch during live commentary.
NASA initially tried to launch the mission on Sunday (Feb. 9), but aborted the attempt in the final minutes due to a ground equipment sensor glitch. Dismal weather throughout the week prompted more delays.
A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket launches the uncrewed Cygnus NG-13 cargo ship to the International Space Station from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Feb. 15, 2020. (Image credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
Cygnus NG-13 will arrive at the space station Tuesday (Feb. 18) deliver more than 7,500 lbs. (3,400 kilograms) of science experiments, supplies and other vital gear for the astronauts of Expedition 62. Packed among those supplies are some treats, including fresh fruit, choice candy selections just in time for Valentine’s Day weekend, as well as and one extra special request from the astronauts.
“For the first time ever, we’re sending some conditioned cheese in a small amount of space that we have left over,” NASA’s Ven Feng, manager of the International Space Station Transportation Integration Office, said in a press conference here on Saturday (Feb. 8).
The cargo ship is delivering wedges of Wisconsin cheddar, Parmesan and Fontina hard cheeses in a cold bag for the station’s three-person Expedition 62 crew to enjoy. That crew includes commander Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos and NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Andrew Morgan.
Space pioneer honored
U.S. Air Force Maj. Robert H. Lawrence, Jr., the first African-American ever selected as an astronaut, stands next to an F-104 Starfighter supersonic jet in this photo. The Cygnus NG-13 spacecraft is named the “S.S. Robert H. Lawrence” to honor the astronaut, who died in a training accident in 1967 before he could launch. (Image credit: U.S. Air Force)
Northrop Grumman named the Cygnus NG-13 spacecraft the “S.S. Robert H. Lawrence” in honor of U.S. Air Force Maj. Robert H. Lawrence, Jr., who became the first African American ever selected to be an astronaut in 1967. The U.S. Air Force picked Lawrence as an astronaut for its Manned Orbiting Laboratory — a planned military space station — in June 1967, but he was killed in a training flight accident later that year before he could reach space.
Frank DeMauro, Northrop Grumman vice president and general manager for Tactical Space Systems, said Saturday that his team was honored to name Cygnus NG-13 in honor of Lawrence. The mission is launching during Black History Month, with NASA and others celebrating the contributions of African-American space pioneers.
“Although his career was cut short in a tragic accident, he paved the way for future aerospace pioneers of all races and enabled increased diversity and inclusion across the industry,” DeMauro said Saturday. “While Major Lawrence never flew into space, we are proud that Cygnus will carry his name on this mission.”
Another view of the Northrop Grumman Antares rocket launching Cygnus NG-13 on Feb. 15, 2020. (Image credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
A science ride
Of the nearly 4 tons of cargo on Cygnus, 2,129 lbs. (966 kg) of it is made up of equipment for 20 different science experiments on the station. Those experiments include studies into bone loss from prolonged exposure to weightlessness, bacteria-targeting viruses that could lead to new medications, as well as some cowpeas to be grown as part of a space food experiment.
Heidi Parris, NASA’s assistant program scientist for the International Space Station program’s science office, said those experiments aim to use the weightless environment on the station to learn more about how to live off Earth, including on the moon and Mars.
“Taking that fundamental gravity out of the equation gives a fundamental understanding of how things work,” Parris said.
The Cygnus NG-13 spacecraft is prepared for launch. (Image credit: Northrop Grumman)
One novel experiment is Mochii, a small scanning electron microscope about the size of a breadbox that can help astronauts quickly identify the composition of small particles, such as debris or contamination in spacesuits.
“Currently the ISS has a blind spot, in that we can’t perform this kind of analysis on orbit,” James Martinez, a materials scientist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center participating in the experiment.
Mochii was built by the Seattle-based company Voxa. It will be installed in the station’s Japanese Kibo laboratory and serve as a new platform and tool for astronauts and scientists.
“It’s the first portable scanning electron microscope in the world,” Christopher Own, Voxa CEO, said in a science briefing Saturday. And now, it’s the first scanning electron microscope in space.
Another key experiment on Cygnus is the Spacecraft Fire Experiment IV, or Saffire-IV. As its name suggests, Saffire-IV is the fourth experiment to study how fire behaves in space aboard a Cygnus spacecraft after it leaves the space station.
Cygnus NG-13 is due to leave the station in May. Once it’s a safe distance from the station, the fire experiment will be activated to see how materials like Nomex and plastic panels — which are used in spacesuits and spacecraft — burn inside a meter-long container.
“Fire safety has been a big concern ever since we started flying crewed vehicles into space,” said Gary Ruff, Saffire-IV project manager at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The new study will use high-speed cameras to capture different views of space under different oxygen levels, he added.
Here’s a breakdown of the cargo flying on Cygnus NG-13:
Crew supplies: 1,570 lbs. (712 kg);
Science gear: 2,129 lbs. (966 kg);
Spacewalk equipment: 179 lbs. (81 kg);
Vehicle hardware: 3,501 lbs. (1,588 kg);
Computer resources: 66 lbs (30 kg).
A flock of Cygnus
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus is one of two private spacecraft (SpaceX’s Dragon capsules are the other) that currently haul cargo to the International Space Station for NASA. NG-13 is the 13th Cygnus mission to reach space for NASA by Northrop Grumman as part of the agency’s Commercial Resupply Services. That count doesn’t include one failed launch in 2014.
On Jan. 31, Cygnus NG-13’s predecessor NG-12 left the space station. Northrop Grumman launched the Cygnus NG-12 vehicle in early November while an even earlier vehicle, NG-11, was still in orbit. Friday’s launch marks the second dual-Cygnus flight for Northrop Grumman.
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus NG-13 spacecraft will arrive at the International Space Station and be captured by a robotic arm on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 4 a.m. EST (0900 GMT). NASA’s live webcast of the rendezvous will begin at 2:30 a.m. EST (0730 GMT) and run through spacecraft capture. After a pause, NASA TV coverage will resume at 6 a.m. EST (1100 GMT) to show Cygnus NG-13’s installation on the station.
Visit Space.com Tuesday for complete coverage of Cygnus NG-13’s arrival and installation on the station.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
