Two Missions Totalling 16,500 Pounds of Cargo
Northrop Grumman has been awarded two additional missions by NASA under the Commercial Resupply Services contract-2 (CRS-2), with launches occurring in 2023 for a combined total of around 16,500lbs of cargo delivered to the International Space Station (ISS), the company announced on 11 November. The contract follow-on includes an order for two missions launching the company’s CYGNUS spacecraft aboard an ANTARES rocket.
“As a trusted and reliable partner to NASA, Northrop Grumman has played a critical role in keeping the International Space Station operational since 2014,” commented Frank DeMauro, VP/General Manager, Tactical Space Systems. “With these additional flights to the orbiting laboratory, we will provide services to both NASA and our commercial partners and continue to use CYGNUS not as just a cargo delivery and disposal vehicle, but as a platform for science and technology research and development opportunities.”
CYGNUS will be launched by the company’s ANTARES rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in eastern Virginia. Northrop Grumman is currently providing resupply services to the ISS through the CRS-2 contract, which began in 2016. Under this contract and the earlier CRS-1 contract, Northrop Grumman has provided more than 150,000lbs of cargo logistics for the station.
