Cygnus Space Freighter S.S. Sally Ride & Canadarm 2 | International Space Station

Cygnus Space Freighter S.S. Sally Ride & Canadarm 2 | International Space Station

The Cygnus space freighter in the grip of the Canadarm2 robotic arm. The Cygnus space freighter from Northrop Grumman is poised for release from the Canadarm2 robotic arm as the International Space Station orbited 263 miles above the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ireland.

The Cygnus space freighter from Northrop Grumman is pictured moments after its release from the Canadarm2 robotic arm as the International Space Station orbited 262 miles above the Mediterranean Sea near the Spanish island of Mallorca.

At 7:22 a.m. EDT on April 21, 2023, a Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft was released from the Canadarm2 robotic arm, which earlier detached Cygnus from the Earth-facing port of the International Space Station’s Unity module. At the time of release, the station was flying southwest of Ireland.

The Cygnus spacecraft successfully departed the space station more than five months after arriving at the microgravity laboratory to deliver about 8,200 pounds of supplies, scientific investigations, commercial products, hardware, and other cargo for NASA.

Following a deorbit engine firing, Cygnus completed a planned destructive re-entry, in which the spacecraft—filled with trash packed by the station crew—safely burned up in Earth’s atmosphere.

Cygnus arrived at the space station Nov. 10, 2022, following a launch on Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia. It was the company’s 18th commercial resupply services mission to the space station for NASA. Northrop Grumman named the spacecraft “S.S. Sally Ride” after late NASA astronaut, physicist, and first American woman to fly in space, Sally Ride, launched on an Antares rocket from the Virginia Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad 0A at Wallops.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Date: April 21, 2023

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