Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo resupply spacecraft has arrived at the International Space Station, just days after a solar panel glitch alarmed engineers on Earth. The spacecraft was captured by astronaut Nicole Mann using the flying laboratory’s robotic arm.
The Cygnus spacecraft was captured by the Canadarm-2, which was carrying dozens of new scientific experiments as well as food for astronauts, who will now work on spacecraft installation to the Unity module’s Earth-facing port.
According to Nasa, mission control in Houston will actively command the arm to rotate Cygnus to its installation orientation and then guide it in for installation on the Unity module’s Earth-facing port on the station.
On Monday, the Cygnus spacecraft was launched aboard an Antares rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Northrop Grumman’s 18th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station delivered 3,700 kilogrammes of scientific research and cargo to the orbiting laboratory.
‘The spacecraft is named the S.S. Sally Ride in honour of the late astronaut, physicist, and first American woman to fly in space,’ Nasa wrote on its blog.
The spacecraft had a problem when only one of the two solar panels on the Cygnus capsule opened successfully after the predawn liftoff. Officials had assured that there would be enough power from the solar panel for the planned space station rendezvous on Wednesday.
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