The Orbital Sciences Corp. announced Sunday that the cargo spacecraft has successfully reached the International Space Station (ISS). The Expedition 38 astronaut crew had secured it in the station early in the morning.
A series of thruster firings and other maneuvers were completed by the Cygnus after it was launched by the Antares rocket from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on January 9. It arrived at the station at about 3:00 a.m. (EST) Sunday. Three hours later, its installation was completed after the Cygnus was guided to its landing port on the lowest point side of the Harmony module of the ISS.
Cygnus is currently transporting about 2,780 lbs (1,260 kg) of cargo and science payloads to the Expedition 38 astronauts. The crew plans on opening the Cygnus hatch and create an initial opening into the cargo module. Cygnus will remain attached at the ISS for 37 days until February 18. It will then carry about 2,800 lbs (1,300kg) of disposable cargo and re-enter over the Pacific Ocean.
David W. Thompson, Orbital's President and Chief Executive Officer, said in a press release,"Our first mission under the CRS contract with NASA was flawlessly executed by our Antares and Cygnus operations team, from the picture-perfect launch from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility to the rendezvous, capture and berthing at the space station this morning."
"From the men and women involved in the design, integration and test, to those who launched the Antares and operated the Cygnus, our whole team has performed at a very high level for our NASA customer and I am very proud of their extraordinary efforts," he added.
Orbital will use Antares and Cygnus to transport cargo weighing up to 44, 000 lbs (20, 000 kg) to the ISS within eight missions, including the ongoing mission, until 2016. This is under its $1.9 billion contract with NASA.
