Cygnus Departs Station After Launch from Robotic Arm

At 6:55 a.m. EDT, the S.S. Richard “Dick” Scobee Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft was launched from the Canadarm2 robotic arm, which earlier indifferent Cygnus from the Earth-facing port of the Worldwide Area Station’s Unity module. On the time of launch, the station was flying about 260 miles over the Pacific Ocean. 

The Cygnus spacecraft efficiently departed the area station greater than seven and a half months after arriving on the microgravity laboratory to ship about 8,200 kilos of provides, scientific investigations, business merchandise, {hardware}, and different cargo for NASA. 

Following a deorbit engine firing on Sunday, March 30, Cygnus will start a deliberate damaging re-entry, wherein the spacecraft – full of trash packed by the station crew – will safely deplete in Earth’s ambiance. 

Cygnus arrived on the area station Aug. 6, 2024, following a launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Area Launch Advanced 40 at Cape Canaveral Area Drive Station in Florida. It was the corporate’s twenty first business resupply companies mission to the area station for NASA. The spacecraft is called the S.S. Richard “Dick” Scobee in honor of the previous NASA astronaut.   

Get area station information, pictures and options by way of the area station weblog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, in addition to the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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March 28, 2025