 Canadarm2 approaches the S.S.Kalpana Chawla | |
| Names | CRS NG-14 CRS OA-14 (2016–2018) |
|---|---|
| Mission type | ISS resupply |
| Operator | Northrop Grumman |
| COSPAR ID | 2020-069A |
| SATCATno. | 46530 |
| Website | NG-14 |
| Mission duration | 115 days, 19 hours, 6 minutes |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | S.S.Kalpana Chawla |
| Spacecraft type | Enhanced Cygnus |
| Manufacturer |
|
| Launch mass | 7,919 kg (17,458 lb) |
| Payload mass | 3,551 kg (7,829 lb)[1] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 3 October 2020, 01:16:14 (2020-10-03UTC01:16:14Z) UTC (9:16:14 pm EDT)[2] |
| Rocket | Antares 230+ |
| Launch site | MARS,Pad 0A |
| End of mission | |
| Disposal | Deorbited |
| Decay date | 26 January 2021, 20:23 (2021-01-26UTC20:24Z) UTC[3] |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Inclination | 51.66° |
| Berthing atISS | |
| Berthing port | Unitynadir |
| RMS capture | 5 October 2020, 09:32 UTC |
| Berthing date | 5 October 2020, 12:01 UTC |
| Unberthing date | 6 January 2021, 12:15 UTC[4] |
| RMS release | 6 January 2021, 15:11 UTC[5] |
| Time berthed | 93 days, 14 minutes |
 NASA insignia | |
NG-14,[2][5] previously known asOA-14, was the fifteenth flight of theNorthrop Grummanrobotic resupply spacecraftCygnus and its fourteenth flight to theInternational Space Station under theCommercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) contract withNASA. The mission was launched on 3 October 2020, at 01:16:14UTC.[6]
Orbital ATK (nowNorthrop Grumman Innovation Systems) and NASA jointly developed a new space transportation system to provide commercial cargo resupply services to the International Space Station (ISS).[7] Under theCommercial 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 aPressurized Cargo Module (PCM) provided by industrial partnerThales Alenia Space,Turin,Italy and a Service Module based on the Orbital Sciences' (headquartered at Dulles, Virginia)GEOStarsatellite bus.[8][9]
Cygnus NG-14 was the third Cygnus mission under theCommercial Resupply Services-2 (CRS-2) contract.[10] 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 inDulles, Virginia andHouston,Texas.[8][9]
This was the ninth flight of the Enhanced Cygnus.[11] The NG-14 Cygnus was named the "S.S.Kalpana Chawla", in memory of the NASA mission specialist who died with her six crewmates aboard theSpace ShuttleColumbia (STS-107) in 2003. "It is the company's tradition to name each Cygnus after an individual who has played a pivotal role in human spaceflight", Northrop Grumman said in a statement released on 8 September 2020. "Chawla was selected in honor of her prominent place in history as the first woman of Indian descent to go to space".[12]
Cygnus NG-14 cargo loading began on 9 September 2020 with the NASAGlenn Research Center SAFFIRE V experiment module. The initial cargo load began two days later. Mating of Cygnus with the Antares launch vehicle occurred about a week later, with "Late Cargo Load" items on 22 September 2020. The bullet-like payload fairing was installed atop Antares on 23 September 2020. TheISS National Laboratory, created a three minute video to highlight the payloads being launched to ISS via the Cygnus NG-14 mission.[13]
The Cygnus NG-14 spacecraft was the second heaviest cargo mission to date, loaded with 3,551 kg (7,829 lb) of research, hardware, and crew supplies:[14][15][16]
Twonitrogen tanks were added to this Cygnus manifest. These tanks help maintain the nitrogen component of the ISS air mixture, necessary due to a recent increase in air leakage.[17]
Felix & Paul Studios EVA Camera was the world's first space-rated 3D-390°virtual reality (VR) camera. The camera was designed to shoot footage forSpace Explorers: The ISS Experience, a collaboration between Montreal-based Felix & Paul Studios,Time,[18][19] andNanoracks. U.S. space services company Nanoracks ruggedized the camera to survive the harsh environment of space and meetNASA requirements.[20] NASA Astronauts will mount the camera on the Nanoracks Kaber Microsatellite Deployer inside theInternational Space Station (ISS) before deploying it outside to capture footage of theEarth, the ISS, and spacewalking astronauts in8K VR for the first time.[21]
Universal Waste Management System, a US$23 million titanium upgraded toilet, allowing astronauts to test its functionality before a similar commode flies on the Orion crew capsule to the Moon. The new toilet is roughly the size of a camper commode. It is about 65% smaller and 40% lighter than the toilet currently on the space station, according to Melissa McKinley, logistics reduction manager for the advanced exploration systems division of NASA. NASA partnered withCollins Aerospace to develop the new toilet, which officials said is better suited for female crew members than the existing commode on the station. Engineers made parts of the toilet out of titanium to withstand acid used to pre-treat urine before the fluid is recycled back into drinking water for the astronauts, said Jim Fuller, project manager of the toilet at Collins Aerospace.[22]
ELaNa 31,Educational Launch of Nanosatellites, deployed the followingCubeSats from ISS:[23] Bobcat-1, NEUTRON-1, andSPOC.
Multi-Needle Langmuir Probe (m-NLP) instrument from theUniversity of Oslo and the Norwegian companyEidsvoll Electronics to measure ionospheric plasma densities. With its relatively low orbit, theInternational Space Station (ISS) passes near the peak plasma density of theionosphere. The m-NLP is currently the only instrument in existence capable of resolving ionospheric plasma density variations at spatial scales below one-meter. m-NLP will be the first payload to be installed on theBartolomeo platform outside the EuropeanColumbus module.[24]
SAFFIRE V, the Spacecraft Fire Experiment, flying its fifth (and second-to-last) mission, provided by NASA's Glenn Research Center (GRC) inCleveland,Ohio, safely examined the process of combustion, smoke behavior and flame-spreading in the microgravity environment. The last two SAFFIREs were planned to run at much lower pressures of around 8.2 psi and a 34% oxygen level. These represent significantly higher atmospheric conditions than are found here onEarth, which was expected to increase the energetic vigor of their respective flames. The first SAFFIRE experiment failed to ignite as planned, and the second returned an anomalous temperature spike reading from one of itsthermocouples.[25] David L. Urban, Ph.D. of the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio is the principal investigator for this experiment series.[26]
Advanced Night Repair, thecosmetics company Estée Lauder flew 10 bottles of its "Advanced Night Repair" serum to the ISS, where the bottles will be photographed with Earth as a backdrop. Estée Lauder says it will use the images in social media and marketing campaigns, and then plans to auction the serum returned to Earth, with the proceeds going to charity. It is part of a new NASA program that dedicates 5% of space station cargo capacity and crew time to commercial marketing activities. Estée Lauder will reimburse NASA around US$128,000 for the resources used in the night serum marketing initiative, according to Phil McAlister, director of commercial spaceflight development of NASA.[15]
SharkSat, a Northrop Grumman technology experiment mounted to theS.S. Kalpana Chawla. According to a NASA fact sheet, SharkSat will remain attached to the Cygnus spacecraft to demonstrate aKa-band Software Defined Radio (SDR) system, which have applications in5G telecommunications, satellite communications, radar, and autonomous and cognitive systems, according to NASA.[5]
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