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Resupply missions for the International Space Station (ISS) launch all the time, but they don’t usually make news. This time, however, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus vehicle is getting the wrong kind of press. The spacecraft reached orbit without incident on Sunday, but NASA now says the vehicle’s engines have failed to fire as scheduled. Cygnus is not in any immediate danger, but Northrop Grumman still has to figure out how to get it to the ISS.
Cygnus launched on Aug. 4 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which has proven to be as reliable as ever following last month’s Starlink anomaly. NASA established contact with Cygnus in orbit and confirmed the vehicle deployed its solar panels. However, Cygnus reported that it had not conducted a pair of engine burns as instructed.
The spacecraft was supposed to perform a targeted altitude burn (TB1) 42 minutes after liftoff. According to NASA, Cygnus reportedly skipped that burn because of a “late entry to burn sequencing.” Mission managers rescheduled the burn for 50 minutes later, but the vehicle skipped that one due to a “slightly low initial pressure state” inside the engine.
The good news is the Cygnus is at a safe altitude and won’t tumble back into the atmosphere if it has to orbit for a bit. Cygnus is an uncrewed cargo vessel, so there’s no concern about more stranded astronauts. However, it is carrying thousands of pounds of important materials and supplies for the ISS crew.
Cygnus will (hopefully) deliver 8,503 pounds (3,857 kilograms) of cargo to the ISS. The cargo is split about evenly between vehicle components, science experiments, and crew supplies. The spacecraft even has some additional items for astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have been hanging out at the station for the last few months while NASA and Boeing investigate problems with the Starliner spacecraft. Some personal items were removed from Starliner before launch to make room for station components, but that was seen as unproblematic considering the short eight-day mission duration. Two months later, Williams and Wilmore will probably be happy to receive a care package of clothing and personal food items.
NASA says the Cygnus cargo delivery won’t have SpaceX pressure suits for Williams and Wilmore, which would be required for the pair to return home aboard a crew Dragon. SpaceX plans to launch a new crew rotation mission later this month, so it’s possible that spacecraft could deliver the necessary suits if NASA decides to go that way.
As for Cygnus, Northrop Grumman is developing a new burn and trajectory plan to get the vehicle to the ISS. There’s some time before the upcoming crew launch on or around Aug. 18, so there’s no rush getting this cargo vehicle back on track.