NASA Television to Air Departure of Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus from Space Station

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	December 29, 2020  MEDIA ADVISORY M20-139 NASA Television to Air Departure of Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus from Space Station 1_iss063e101293medium.jpg Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus space freighter approaches the International Space Station where the Canadarm2 robotic arm is poised to capture it for docking. Credits: NASA Northrop Grumman’s uncrewed Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled to depart the International Space Station on Wednesday, Jan. 6, more than three months after delivering nearly 8,000 pounds of supplies, scientific investigations, commercial products, hardware, and other cargo to the orbiting outpost. Live coverage of the cargo spacecraft’s departure will begin at 9:45 a.m. EST on NASA Television and the agency’s website, with release of Cygnus scheduled for 10:10 a.m. Flight controllers on the ground will send commands to robotically detach Cygnus from the Unity module’s Earth-facing port, maneuver it into place, and release it from the Canadarm2 robotic arm. NASA astronaut Kate Rubins will monitor Cygnus’ systems upon its departure from the space station. Prior to departure, the crew will pack Cygnus with the Saffire V investigation, the SharkSat hosted payload, and several thousand pounds of trash. After departure, Cygnus will conduct an extended mission in orbit, hosting experiments, before performing a safe re-entry and burning up in Earth’s atmosphere. The Cygnus resupply spacecraft is named in memory of Kalpana Chawla, the first female astronaut of Indian descent. Chawla, who dedicated her life to understanding flight dynamics, died in the STS-107 space shuttle Columbia accident. Cygnus arrived at the space station Oct. 5, following an Oct. 2 launch on Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia. Learn more about Cygnus’ mission and the International Space Station at: https://www.nasa.gov/station Get breaking news, images and features from the space station on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. -end-
	Press Contacts Stephanie Schierholz Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 stepanie.schierholz@xxxxxxxx Leah Cheshier Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 leah.d.cheshier@xxxxxxxx
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