(AGENPARL) – ven 28 ottobre 2022 October 28, 2022
MEDIA ADVISORY M22-159
NASA Sets TV Coverage for Cargo Launch to International Space Station
[A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket, with the company’s Cygnus spacecraft onboard, launches at 12:40 p.m. EST, Saturday, Feb. 19., 2022, from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad-0A, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.](https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/ng_17_lauch_for_advisory_on_ng_18.jpg)
ng_17_lauch_for_advisory_on_ng_18.jpg
A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket, with the company’s Cygnus spacecraft onboard, launches at 12:40 p.m. EST, Saturday, Feb. 19., 2022, from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad-0A, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Northrop Grumman’s 17th contracted cargo resupply mission for NASA to the International Space Station is carrying nearly 8,300 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew. Credits: NASA Wallops/Patrick Black
NASA and commercial cargo provider Northrop Grumman are targeting 5:50 a.m. EST, Sunday, Nov. 6, for launch of the company’s 18th resupply mission to the International Space Station.
Live coverage of the launch from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia, will air on NASA Television. Watch live beginning at 5:30 a.m. on the agency’s website at:
[www.nasa.gov/live](https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive)
NASA TV coverage of rendezvous and capture will begin at 4:30 a.m. EST followed by installation coverage at 7:30 a.m. At about 5:50 a.m., Expedition 68 NASA astronaut Nicole Mann will capture Cygnus, with NASA astronaut Josh Cassada acting as backup. After Cygnus capture, ground commands will be sent from mission control at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for the station’s arm to rotate and install it on the station’s Unity module Earth-facing port.
Highlights of hardware and [space station research](https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/index.html) facilitated by samples and equipment aboard this Cygnus are:
– a [facility](https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=7599) and [study](https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8743) that attempt to advance the 3D biological printing of human tissue in space
– a [study](https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8799) taking advantage of microgravity to better understand catastrophic mudflows that can occur after wildfires
– Uganda and Zimbabwe’s [first satellites](https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8847) developed as a part of the BIRDS program, an interdisciplinary project for non-space faring countries
– an investigation into how microgravity influences [ovary function](https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8759)
– an experiment that studies if changes space-grown plants undergo to adapt to microgravity can be [transmitted through seeds](https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8336) to the next generation
– hardware to be installed outside the station in preparation for the installation of [Roll-Out Solar Arrays](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/new-solar-arrays-to-power-nasa-s-international-space-station-research)
The Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the space station until late January 2023 when it will depart, disposing of several tons of trash during a destructive re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.
Prelaunch Briefing
A prelaunch briefing will be held at 1 p.m. EDT, Saturday, Nov. 5, and may be viewed on NASA Television and the agency’s [website](https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv). Participants will include:
– Joel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station Program, NASA
– Heidi Parris, associate program scientist for the International Space Station
– Steve Krein, vice president, Civil and Commercial Space, Northrop Grumman
– Kurt Eberly, director, Space Launch Programs, Northrop Grumman
– Roosevelt “Ted” Mercer, Jr., CEO and executive director, Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority
– Jeff Reddish, range chief, NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility
Additionally, media and the public can submit questions on social media using #AskNASA.
NASA TV Coverage
Sunday, November 6:
– 5:30 a.m. – Launch coverage begins
– 5:50 a.m. – Launch window opens
Tuesday, November 8:
– 4:30 a.m. – Rendezvous coverage begins
– 5:50 a.m. – Capture of Cygnus with the space station’s robotic arm
– 7:30 a.m. – Cygnus installation operations coverage
Public Participation
Learn more about Northrop Grumman commercial resupply missions at:
https://www.nasa.gov/northropgrumman
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Press Contacts
Lora Bleacher
?Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
Keith Koehler
Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va.
757-824-1579