baur_mg_0013.jpg The Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft launches Aug. 10, 2021, aboard its Antares rocket delivering critical supplies to the International Space Station on its 16th commercial resupply services mission from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia. Credits: Thom Baur for Northrop Grumman

Media accreditation is open for the launch of Northrop Grumman’s 17th commercial resupply services mission for NASA to deliver science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station aboard its Cygnus spacecraft.

Northrop Grumman is targeting liftoff of its Antares rocket no earlier than 12:39 p.m. EST Saturday, Feb. 19, from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad-0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia.

This is the first Cygnus mission featuring enhanced capabilities to perform a re-boost to the space station’s orbit as a standard service for NASA; one re-boost is planned while Cygnus is connected to the orbiting laboratory.

Due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, NASA will be credentialing a limited number of media to cover this Antares launch on-site.

Both U.S. media and international media already based in the U.S. may apply for this launch. Responses are due by 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 4, to Keith Koehler at: keith.a.koehler@nasa.gov. A copy of NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online.

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

Planned space station research supported by this mission includes:

• a study that examines the effects of a drug on breast and prostate cancer cells
• a new combustion facility
• an investigation from Colgate-Palmolive that will leverage the acceleration of skin aging in microgravity to help create and validate an engineered tissue model to serve as a platform for testing potential products to protect aging skin
• a demonstration of a lithium-ion secondary battery capable of safe, stable operation under extreme temperatures and in a vacuum environment
• new hydrogen sensors that will be tested for the space station’s oxygen generation system
• a system that will test hydroponic and aeroponic techniques for plant growth and allow scientists to observe root growth through video and still images

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 the only laboratory in space. 

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

https://www.nasa.gov/northropgrumman

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Press Contacts

Gina Anderson / Stephanie Schierholz
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
gina.n.anderson@nasa.gov / stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov

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

Dylan Connell 
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
dylan.b.connell@nasa.gov

Kristi Davidson
Northrop Grumman, Chandler, Ariz.
480-276-8464
kristi.davidson@ngc.com

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