Cygnus Cargo Ship To Miss Planned ISS Rendezvous

NASA and Northrop Grumman are revising the flight plan for the Cygnus XL cargo ship to rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS) after a Sept. 16 maneuvering burn cut out early.

The expanded Cygnus XL spacecraft, which carries more than 11,000 lb. of food, supplies and experiments for the ISS crew, launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 6:11 p.m. Sept. 14.

In a statement late Sept. 16, NASA said the freighter would miss its 6:35 a.m. Sept. 17 rendezvous with the ISS. “Early Tuesday morning, Cygnus XL’s main engine stopped earlier than planned during two burns designed to raise the orbit of the spacecraft for rendezvous with the space station,” NASA said.

Flight controllers were evaluating an alternate burn plan, the agency added. “A new arrival date and time [are] under review,” it noted.

NASA and Northrop did not provide any details on what caused the engine abort and how far into the burn sequence it occurred.

The Falcon 9 upper stage released the Cygnus spacecraft into a preliminary 152-mi.-high orbit to begin a planned 60-hr. flight to the ISS. Cygnus was orbiting 173 mi. above Earth late Sept. 16, the satellite tracking website n2yo.com showed.