The Cygnus “NG-21” supply ship has successfully docked with the International Space Station, also carrying the Japanese space portal sorae.

The Cygnus supply ship No. 21, operated by the private American company Northrop Grumman, has successfully launched and docked with the International Space Station (ISS). The Cygnus “NG-21” replenishment mission will carry a total of 3,857 kg of supplies, including daily necessities, food, and experimental equipment used by astronauts residing on the ISS. The cargo also includes small satellites developed and produced by Japanese universities and the space community.

■From launch to docking

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket equipped with Cygnus landed at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, USA, at 00:02 on August 5, 2024 (Japan time, shown below). 14 minutes and 40 seconds after launch, it successfully separated from the Falcon 9 rocket's second stage.

However, according to NASA, the first Cygnus burn, scheduled for 00:44 the same day, was not executed due to a delay in entering the burn sequence. Another burn occurred at 1:34, but was aborted shortly after engine ignition due to slightly lower initial pressure conditions. Although the burn did not go as planned, Cygnus' solar paddles were successfully deployed at 03:22.

Then, engineers at Northrop Grumman, which operates Cygnus, re-planned the burn and successfully executed the burn. Cygnus was launched to its planned orbit.

Cygnus was then attached to the ground side of the Unity module at 16:10 on August 6 using the ISS’s Canadarm2 robotic arm. It was picked up by NASA astronaut Matthew Dominik, who resides on the ISS, and NASA astronaut Janet Epps provided support. Cygnus is scheduled to undock from the ISS in January 2025 and re-enter the atmosphere to complete the NG-21 mission.

■Overview of NG-21 and installed experimental equipment

Under contract with NASA's Commercial Resupply Service (CRS and CRS-2), Cygnus regularly delivers supplies such as daily necessities, food, and laboratory equipment to astronauts on the ISS, and is used for transportation. NG-21 carries 8,000 lb (3,843 kg) of pressurized cargo and 33 lb (14 kg) of unpressurized supplies. After docking with the ISS, Cygnus will also use the engine installed in the Service Module to reboot the ISS (lift it into orbit).

The pressurized cargo on board NG-21 also includes experimental equipment that will be carried to the ISS and used in various experiments. One, the Packed Bead Reactor Experiment: Water Recovery Chain, explores how gravity affects the movement of gases and liquids through porous media. It also carried experimental equipment for astronauts to conduct on the ISS as part of a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education project. In this experiment, astronauts use a penny, a hexagonal nut and two transparent balloons to test the effect of centripetal force on sound. Other activities will include experiments to generate human hematopoietic stem cells in microgravity and research to study the effects of spaceflight on DNA repair mechanisms.

■ Small Japanese satellites also go to the International Space Station

NG-21 also carried a small satellite developed by Japanese students and the space community. The satellites on board are “Sakura” developed by students at Chiba Institute of Technology, “Sagan Sat 0” developed by high school students in Saga Prefecture, and “Ema” developed by the space community “Cosmo Girls”. These satellites are planned to be launched from the International Space Station in the future. There are also small satellites that perform unique tasks. Here we will introduce three satellites.

SAKURA was developed by students participating in the Advanced Engineer Development Program held at the same university. The size is 1U (a cube with one side 10 cm), and the mission will be to observe the Earth. In this program, which began in 2021, students gain experience in designing, manufacturing, testing and operating satellites, with the goal of developing engineers.

SaganSat No.0 was developed by high school students participating in the “JAXAGA SCHOOL” educational program, a collaboration between Saga Prefecture and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). The satellite will have two cameras that can take 360-degree images, and the mission will combine the images to form a 720-degree image, an Earth observation mission using an infrared camera, a mission to measure gamma rays in space, and as a result, unique activities will be carried out, such as a mission to express the difference between radiation on Earth and in space.

Emma was also developed by members of the Cosmo Women's Amateur Radio Club. According to the club, this is the first time in Japan that a society led by women with no experience in space exploration has launched a satellite. Emma is named after the “votive tablet” found at the shrine. The mission will include “space votive tablets,” where wishes made through crowdfunding will be uploaded to a satellite, and “lucky vouchers,” which will be made using data from the satellite.

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Text / Hayashi Deguchi Editing / Editorial Department sorae