Matthew Nelson
NASA expects Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft to leave the International Space Station Jan. 6 following the delivery of almost 8K pounds of crew supplies, commercial technology and scientific experiments.
The uncrewed space freighter, nicknamed Kalpana Chawla, will separate from the orbiting outpost more than three months after its arrival and will ferry the Spacecraft Fire Safety V and prototype SharkSat demonstrations along with disposal cargo upon departure, NASA said Wednesday.
An Antares rocket deployed the uncrewed vehicle Oct. 2 as part of the company's 14th ISS resupply mission.
Ground-based flight controllers will work to reposition Cygnus and detach it from the Canadarm2 robotic arm, while NASA Astronaut Kate Rubins will monitor spacecraft systems during the separation process.
The NG-14Â vehicle will host experiments as part of a secondary mission in orbit before re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.
