A NASA mathematician whose calculations helped send the first American into orbit is being honored as the namesake for a resupply craft that will support the astronauts circling Earth today.
Should schedules hold, the S.S. Katherine Johnson, a Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo ship, will launch to the International Space Station on Feb. 20 — 59 years to the day after Johnson's work made John Glenn's Mercury mission a possible.
"In celebration of Black History Month, Northrop Grumman announced the name of our NG-15 Cygnus spacecraft in honor of Katherine Johnson, a NASA mathematician who overcame barriers of race and gender," the company wrote in a Feb. 1 press release. "It is the company's tradition to name each Cygnus spacecraft after an individual who has played a pivotal role in human spaceflight."
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 46519 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 02-20-2021 08:25 AM
NASA video
Watch as Northrop Grumman launches its Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft on a resupply mission to the International Space Station.
Liftoff is targeted for Saturday (Feb. 20) at 12:36 p.m. EST (1736 GMT) from Pad 0-A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island in Virginia.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 46519 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 02-20-2021 12:19 PM
NASA release
NASA Science, Cargo Launches on 15th Northrop Grumman Resupply Mission to Space Station
A Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply spacecraft is en route to the International Space Station with approximately 8,000 pounds of science investigations and cargo after launching at 12:36 p.m. EST Saturday (Feb. 20) from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. About three hours after launch, the spacecraft's solar arrays successfully deployed to collect sunlight to power Cygnus on its journey to the space station.
Cygnus is scheduled to arrive at the space station on Monday around 4:40 a.m. EST.
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi will use the space station's robotic Canadarm2 to capture Cygnus upon its arrival, while NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins monitors telemetry during rendezvous, capture, and installation on the Unity module's Earth-facing port.
Northrop Grumman's 15th cargo flight to the space station is the fourth under its Commercial Resupply Services 2 contract with NASA. Cygnus launched on an Antares 230+ rocket from the Virginia Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport's Pad 0A at Wallops.
The resupply flight will support dozens of new and existing investigations. Included in the scientific investigations Cygnus is delivering to the space station are:
Using worms to learn about muscle loss
Tiny worms could help us determine the cause of muscle weakening that astronauts can experience in microgravity. Thanks to a new device for measuring the muscle strength of tiny C. elegans worms, researchers with the Micro-16 study can test whether decreased expression of muscle proteins is associated with this decreased strength.
Results of this experiment may provide a better understanding of the links between gene expression and muscle strength, support the development of countermeasures to help maintain crew member health, and support new therapies to combat the effects of age-related muscle loss on Earth.
I dream of space
The ESA (European Space Agency) Dreams experiment will take a closer look at astronaut sleep. The investigation serves as a technology demonstration of the Dry-EEG Headband in microgravity, while also monitoring astronaut sleep quality during a long-duration flight mission. Raw data will be available to scientists for their analysis, while the crew also can input direct feedback on their sleep with a tablet application.
Sleep is central to human health, so a better understanding of sleep in space provides a more comprehensive understanding of human health in microgravity.
A life support upgrade
The Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) is a system of regenerative life support hardware that provides clean air and water to the space station crew. The system will get an upgrade thanks to the Exploration ECLSS: Brine Processor System. This investigation demonstrates technology to recover additional water from the Urine Processor Assembly using a membrane distillation process.
Long-duration crewed exploration missions require about 98% water recovery, and this technology demonstration in brine processing will help achieve this goal. This Brine Processor System plans to close the gap for the urine waste stream of the space station.
Testing the manufacturing of artificial retinas in microgravity
Millions of people on Earth suffer from retinal degenerative diseases. Artificial retinas or retinal implants may provide a way to restore meaningful vision for those affected. In 2018, startup LambdaVision sent its first experiment to the space station to determine if the process used to create artificial retinal implants by forming a thin film one layer at a time may work better in microgravity.
LambdaVision's second experiment evaluates a manufacturing system using a light-activated protein that replaces the function of damaged cells in the eye. This information could help LambdaVision uncover whether microgravity could optimize production of these retinas and assist people back on Earth.
Preparing for the Moon
The International Space Station serves as a testing ground for technologies we plan to use on future missions to the Moon. The A-HoSS investigation puts tools for the crewed Artemis II mission to the test. Built as the primary radiation detection system for the Orion spacecraft, the Hybrid Electronic Radiation Assessor (HERA) was modified for operation on the space station.
By verifying that HERA can operate without error for 30 days, it validates the system for crewed Artemis mission operations.
Identifying new targets for disease treatment
Each of the more than 100,000 proteins in the human body has a unique and complicated structure, which is closely related to its function. Revealing protein structure can lead to an understanding of its function, but it is difficult to grow protein structures here on Earth where gravity interferes with optimal growth. Previous research has shown that high-quality protein crystals can be produced in microgravity that can be analyzed to identify possible targets for drugs to treat disease.
The Real-Time Protein Crystal Growth 2 study plans to produce up to eight high-quality protein crystals at time, which will undergo detailed analysis back on Earth. This investigation allows for real-time adjustments through the run of the experiment.
High-performance computing aboard the space station
Improved high-performance computing will be required for space missions as humans prepare for additional exploration throughout the solar system. Currently, computing capabilities in space are reduced compared to capabilities on the ground because they prioritize reliability over performance, creating challenges when transmitting data to and from space.
Launched in 2017, the Spaceborne computer study ran a high-performance commercial off-the-shelf computer system in space, successfully performing more than 1 trillion calculations (or one teraflop) per second for 207 days without requiring reset. Now launching on Northrop Grumman's CRS-15 mission, Spaceborne Computer-2 explores how commercial off-the-shelf computer systems can advance space exploration by reliably processing data significantly faster in space, speeding scientists' time to data access and analysis from months to minutes.
These are just a subset of the hundreds of investigations currently being conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory in the areas of biology and biotechnology, physical sciences, and Earth and space science. Advances in these areas will help keep astronauts healthy during long-duration space travel and demonstrate technologies for future human and robotic exploration missions as part of NASA's Moon and Mars exploration approach, including lunar missions through NASA's Artemis program.
The lead NASA flight director for the mission is Adi Boulos.
"I am humbled to be the International Space Station Flight Director for the Northrup Grumman CRS-15 mission," Boulos said. "This spacecraft has the honor of being named the S.S. Katherine Johnson. As a Black woman, Katherine Johnson shattered race and gender barriers to live out her dreams and become a pivotal part of this country's young space program. Fifty-nine years ago today, astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth after personally asking for Katherine Johnson to verify his Mercury missions' orbital trajectory calculations. Katherine Johnson was an asset to our space program, and I am honored to work for a mission that expands her legacy even further."
The Cygnus spacecraft will remain at the space station until May before it disposes of several thousand pounds of trash through its destructive re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 46519 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 02-22-2021 08:01 AM
SS Katherine Johnson berthed to station
Northrop Grumman's NG-15 Cygnus cargo spacecraft, the S.S. Katherine Johnson, was berthed to the Earth-facing port of the Unity module at 7:16 a.m. EST (1216 GMT) on Monday (Feb. 22) and subsequently bolted into place.
The Cygnus was captured at 4:38 a.m. EST, when Expedition 64 flight engineer Soichi Noguchi of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) used the International Space Station's Canadarm2 robotic arm to grapple the spacecraft as flight engineer Mike Hopkins of NASA monitored the approach.
The S.S. Katherine Johnson will remain at the space station until May. Following its departure, the Cygnus will dispose of several tons of trash during a destructive reentry into Earth's atmosphere.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 46519 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
Northrop Grumman's NG-15 Cygnus Spacecraft Departs International Space Station
S.S. Katherine Johnson completes a four month stay at the station
Northrop Grumman Corporation announced today (June 29) that its Cygnus spacecraft left the International Space Station to begin the next phase of the NG-15 mission. Cygnus was released by the station's robotic arm at 12:32 p.m. EDT (1632 GMT), carrying more than 8,000 pounds (3,630 kg) of disposable cargo. Cygnus will remain in orbit for approximately three days to carry out the secondary phase of the mission.
The S.S. Katherine Johnson will now deploy five CubeSats via two separate CubeSat deployers, Slingshot and Nanoracks. This Cubesat deployment includes Dhabisat, the second CubeSat developed by Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Dhabisat was developed as part of Khalifa's Space Systems and Technology Concentration, a joint program developed in collaboration with UAE-based satellite operator Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) and Northrop Grumman.
"Our Cygnus cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station help enable humans to live and work in space," said Frank DeMauro, vice president and general manager, tactical space systems, Northrop Grumman. "With each mission, we grow our capabilities beyond cargo resupply as we operate a high performing science laboratory for both civil and commercial companies during the secondary phase of our flight."
The NG-15 Cygnus spacecraft was launched on Feb. 20 aboard Northrop Grumman's Antares rocket, carrying nearly 8,000 pounds of scientific research, supplies and equipment to the astronauts living on the station. The vehicle has been berthed with the orbiting laboratory since Feb. 22.
posted 02-02-2021 08:37 PM
advertisement