Orbital ATK's Cygnus Spacecraft Departs ISS | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-07.07.25

Airborne-NextGen-07.08.25

AirborneUnlimited-06.25.25

Airborne-AffordableFlyers-06.26.25

AirborneUnlimited-06.27.25

Fri, Dec 08, 2017

Orbital ATK's Cygnus Spacecraft Departs ISS

Begins Secondary Mission In Space

Following a highly successful stay as a part of the International Space Station, the Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft “S.S. Gene Cernan” has departed the station to begin the next phase of its mission. The  is now set to deploy a record number of cubesats in orbit before reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere. The OA-8 mission marks the fourth time that Cygnus has been used for NanoRacks cubesat deployments during its secondary payload mission phase.

Cygnus departed from the International Space Station  one day after being unberthed by the station’s robotic arm and conducting a test for NASA while still grappled. The spacecraft spent 22 days at the orbiting laboratory before leaving with approximately 6,400 pounds of items for disposal, marking the largest amount of material removed by Cygnus during its cargo resupply missions. During this period, Cygnus also acted as an extension of the space station for the first time by successfully supporting science experiments inside the cargo module while docked to the laboratory.

“Our stay at the International Space Station proved to be extremely productive and further demonstrated expanded capabilities for Cygnus beyond our core functions of delivery and disposal,” said Frank Culbertson, President of Orbital ATK’s Space Systems Group. “Cygnus performed flawlessly as an in-orbit science platform while attached to the space station for the first time. Our work continues as we now begin the next phase of the mission to deploy a record number of cubesats.”

The OA-8 mission began on November 12 when Cygnus launched aboard an Orbital ATK Antares rocket at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. Upon arrival at the orbiting laboratory, Cygnus delivered approximately 7,400 pounds of cargo and science experiments to the astronauts, marking Orbital ATK’s eighth operational mission to the International Space Station.

Now, the “S.S. Gene Cernan” will use a NanoRacks cubesat deployer to release a record 14 cubesats into orbit. Eight of the cubesats will join Spire Global’s commercial weather satellite constellation for global ship tracking. The NanoRacks manifest also includes cubesats from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab. Additionally, AeroCube B/C consists of two water-based propulsion satellites assembled by the Aerospace Corp. for NASA’s Optical Communications and Sensor Demonstration, or OCSD, marking the first propulsive satellites to deploy from the Cygnus spacecraft.

The OA-8 mission is expected to end on December 18 when Cygnus will execute a safe, destructive reentry into Earth’s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.

(Source: Orbital ATK news release. NASA image)

FMI: www.orbitalatk.com

Advertisement

More News

Airborne 06.30.25: US v ADS-B Misuse, NatÂ’l STOL Fire, Volocopter Resumes

Also: Netherlands Donates 18 F16s, 2 737s Collide On Ramp, E-7 Wedgetail Cut, AgEagle's 100th In S Korea The Pilot and Aircraft Privacy Act was introduced in the House by Represent>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (07.06.25)

“This delivery represents more than just a milestone. It symbolizes our shared commitment to national security and our unwavering support for the men and women who serve on t>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (07.06.25)

Aero Linx: Vintage Wings of Canada Foundation Vintage Wings of Canada is a not-for-profit, charitable organization with a collection of historically significant aircraft and is run>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: Portrait of the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): To Preserve and Teach Incorporated as a non-profit domestic corporation in June 1997, the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation (AAHF) is a one-of-a-kind, >[...]

Airborne-NextGen 07.01.25: Volocopter Returns, B23 Energic, Iran Tech In UAVs?

Also: Air Taxis May Be Close, AgEagle Sells 100th, VAI Likes Bedford, AURA AERO Cleans Up Volocopter has resumed work towards the certification of its VoloCity eVTOL, this time und>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC