Northrop Grumman is now set to launch a Cygnus vessel full of cargo — and science equipment — to the International Space Station early Saturday (Nov. 17) and you can watch it live here. Liftoff is set for 4:01 a.m. EST (0901 GMT). NASA's webcast will begin at 3:30 a.m. EST (0830 GMT). The launch, originally targeted for Nov. 14, was delayed two days due to bad weather forecast for its launch site at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia.
The Cygnus will deliver 7,500 pounds of supplies to the International Space Station and will arrive at the space station on Sunday (Nov. 18) if an on-time launch goes as planned.
NASA’s commercial partner Northrop Grumman is scheduled to launch its Antares rocket, carrying the Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station, at 4:49 a.m. EST Thursday, Nov. 15. The launch, as well as briefings preceding and following the launch, will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
Loaded with about 7,400 pounds of research, crew supplies and hardware, this 10th commercial resupply mission for Northrop Grumman will launch from Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility.
About 70 minutes after launch, an automated command will initiate deployment of the spacecraft’s solar arrays. Full deployment will take approximately 30 minutes.
The Cygnus spacecraft, dubbed the SS John Young, will arrive at the space station Sunday, Nov. 18. At about 4:35 a.m., Expedition 57 Flight Engineer Serena Auñón-Chancellor of NASA will grapple the spacecraft using the station’s robotic arm. She will be backed up by Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency), who will monitor Cygnus systems during its approach. After capture, ground controllers will command the robotic arm to rotate and install Cygnus on the bottom of the station’s Unity module.
Complete coverage of launch activities is as follows:
Tuesday, Nov. 13:
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2 p.m. – What’s on Board science briefing
- Tara Ruttley, associate chief scientist for Microgravity Research in NASA’s Office of the Chief Scientist
- Diane Risdon, In-Space Manufacturing Refabricator project lead at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center
- Liz Warren, associate program scientist for the station’s National Lab
- Allison Porter, flight mission manager at Tethers Unlimited
- Michelle Lucas, founder and president of Higher Orbits
- Student researchers with Higher Orbits
- Siobhan Malany, founder and president of micro-gRx
Wednesday, Nov. 14:
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11 a.m. – Prelaunch news conference
- Joel Montalbano, International Space Station Program deputy manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center
- Tara Ruttley
- Doug Voss, deputy chief of the Range and Mission Management Office at Wallops
- Frank DeMauro, vice president, Advanced Programs Division, Northrop Grumman
- Kurt Eberly, Antares vice president at Northrop Grumman
Thursday, Nov. 15:
- 4:15 a.m. – Launch coverage begins
- 5:45 a.m. – Cygnus solar array deployment
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7 a.m. – Postlaunch news conference
- Joel Montalbano
- Frank DeMauro
- Kurt Eberly
Sunday, Nov. 18
- 3 a.m. – Grapple of Cygnus with the space station’s robotic arm
- 6:15 a.m. – Cygnus installation operations
Media already registered to attend launch activities at Wallops can get more information on schedules, facility hours of operation, remote camera setup, and more at:
The Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the space station until Feb. 12, 2019, when it will depart, taking with it several tons of trash, and deploy several CubeSats before its fiery reentry into Earth’s atmosphere.
Learn more about the Northrop Grumman CRS-10 mission by going to the mission home page at:
https://www.nasa.gov/northropgrumman
If all goes according to plan, the mission, called "It's Business Time, "will deliver six small satellites and a technology-demonstrating "drag sail" to Earth orbit.
The Electron has two other launches under its belt, but both of those were test missions.
Live HD Views of Earth from Space
You can watch live, high-definition views of Earth from the International Space Station thanks to NASA's High Definition Earth Viewing experiment (HDEV). This live video provides alternating views from four of the station's external cameras nearly 24/7, with the exception of regular and temporary dropouts that occur when the station switches its connection between different communications satellites. Watch it live in the window above, courtesy of NASA TV.
"Behold, the Earth! See live views of Earth from the International Space Station coming to you by NASA's High Definition Earth Viewing (HDEV) experiment.
"While the experiment is operational, views will typically sequence through the different cameras. If you are seeing a black image, the Space Station is on the night side of the Earth. If you are seeing an image with text displayed, the communications are switching between satellites and camera feeds are temporarily unavailable. Between camera switches, a black & gray slate will also briefly appear.
"The experiment was activated on April 30, 2014 and is mounted on the External Payload Facility of the European Space Agency’s Columbus module. This experiment includes several commercial HD video cameras aimed at the Earth which are enclosed in a pressurized and temperature controlled housing. To learn more about the HDEV experiment, visit: https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/ESRS/HDEV/
"Please note: The HDEV cycling of the cameras will sometimes be halted, causing the video to only show select camera feeds. This is handled by the HDEV team, and is only scheduled on a temporary basis. Nominal video will resume once the team has finished their scheduled event."
'ISS Live!' Tune in to the International Space Station
Find out what the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station are up to by tuning in to the "ISS Live" broadcast. Hear conversations between the crew and mission controllers on Earth and watch them work inside the U.S. segment of the orbiting laboratory. When the crew is off duty, you can enjoy live views of Earth from Space. You can watch and listen in the window below, courtesy of NASA.
"Live video from the International Space Station includes internal views when the crew is on-duty and Earth views at other times. The video is accompanied by audio of conversations between the crew and Mission Control. This video is only available when the space station is in contact with the ground. During 'loss of signal' periods, viewers will see a blue screen.
"Since the station orbits the Earth once every 90 minutes, it experiences a sunrise or a sunset about every 45 minutes. When the station is in darkness, external camera video may appear black, but can sometimes provide spectacular views of lightning or city lights below."
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