Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft atop the company’s Antares rocket lifts off Feb. 20, 2021, to deliver important science and cargo to the International Space Station on the company’s 15th commercial resupply services mission for NASA. Credits: NASA

Media accreditation is open for the launch from Virginia of Northrop Grumman’s 16th commercial resupply services mission to deliver NASA science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station aboard its Cygnus spacecraft.

Northrop Grumman is targeting liftoff of its Antares rocket for no earlier than 5:55 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Aug. 10, from Pad-0A of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island.

Both U.S. and international media, as described in NASA’s newly released agencywide media accreditation policy, must apply by 4 p.m. Tuesday, July 27. All accreditation requests must be sent to Keith Koehler at: keith.a.koehler@nasa.gov. Due to ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions, registration for international media for this launch will be limited to international media already based in the United States.

Each resupply mission to the station delivers scientific investigations in the areas of biology and biotechnology, Earth and space science, physical sciences, and technology development and demonstrations.

Highlights of space station research facilitated by this mission are:

• The Redwire Regolith Print study, which demonstrates 3D printing in space using a material simulating rock and soil found on the surfaces of planetary bodies, such as the Moon.
• Blob, an ESA (European Space Agency) investigation, which will allow students to see how slime molds’ behavior is affected by microgravity.
• Capsules, which will deploy when Cygnus re-enters the atmosphere and transmit data to test an affordable thermal protection system, also known as a heat shield.
• A new spacecraft carbon dioxide removal technology that could help future explorers on the Moon and Mars breathe more easily.

Cargo resupply from U.S. companies ensures a national capability to deliver critical science research to the space station, significantly increasing NASA's ability to conduct new investigations at this laboratory in space. Cygnus also will carry a new modification kit, or mounting bracket, that astronauts will attach to the left (port) side of the station’s backbone truss in a location designated P4 during a spacewalk planned for late August. The mounting bracket will enable the installation of one of the next pair of new solar array to be at a later date.

Get more information about Northrop Grumman’s commercial resupply missions at:

https://www.nasa.gov/northropgrumman

-end-

Press Contacts

Stephanie Schierholz 
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov

Keith Koehler
Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va.
757-824-1579
keith.a.koehler@nasa.gov

Trina Patterson
Northrop Grumman, Dulles, Va.
480-814-6504
Trina.patterson@ngc.com

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