View source for Engineering:Cygnus NG-13

{{Short description|2020 American resupply spaceflight to the ISS}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name              = NG-13
| image             = ISS-63 Cygnus NG-13 departing the ISS.jpg
| image_caption     = Canadarm2 grapples the S.S. ''Robert H. Lawrence''

| names_list        = OA-13 (2016–2018)
| mission_type      = [[Engineering:Space logistics|ISS logistics]]
| operator          = [[Company:Northrop Grumman|Northrop Grumman]]
| COSPAR_ID         = 2020-011A
| SATCAT            = 45175 
| mission_duration  = {{Time interval|15 February 2020 20:21:01|29 May 2020, 19:29|show=dhm|sep=,}}

| spacecraft        = S.S. ''Robert H. Lawrence''
| spacecraft_type   = [[Engineering:Cygnus (spacecraft)|Enhanced Cygnus]]
| manufacturer      = {{Ubl|Northrop Grumman|[[Company:Thales Alenia Space|Thales Alenia]]}}
| payload_mass      = {{Convert|3377|kg}}

| launch_date       = 15 February 2020, 20:21:01 [[Physics:Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]]
| launch_rocket     = [[Engineering:Antares (rocket)|Antares 230+]]
| launch_site       = Wallops Pad 0A
| launch_contractor = Northrop Grumman

| disposal_type     = Deorbited
| decay_date        = 29 May 2020, 19:29 UTC

| orbit_reference   = [[Astronomy:Geocentric orbit|Geocentric orbit]]
| orbit_regime      = [[Astronomy:Low Earth orbit|Low Earth orbit]]
| orbit_inclination = 51.66°
| apsis             = gee

| docking           = {{Infobox spaceflight/Dock
  | docking_target  = the [[Astronomy:International Space Station|International Space Station]]
  | docking_type    = berth
  | docking_port    = ''Unity'' [[Nadir|nadir]]<ref name=Exp62/>
  | capture_date    = 18 February 2020, 09:05 UTC
  | docking_date    = 18 February 2020, 11:16 UTC
  | undocking_date  = 11 May 2020, 13:00 UTC<ref name="jsr778"/>
  | release_date    = 11 May 2020, 16:09 UTC<ref name="sfn20200511"/>
  | time_docked     = {{Time interval|18 February 2020 11:16|11 May 2020, 13:00|show=dhm|sep=,}}
  }}

| insignia          = Cygnus NG-13 Patch.png
| insignia_caption  = NASA insignia

| programme         = '''[[Astronomy:Commercial Resupply Services|Commercial Resupply Services]]'''
| previous_mission  = [[Engineering:SpaceX CRS-19|SpaceX CRS-19]]
| next_mission      = [[Engineering:SpaceX CRS-20|SpaceX CRS-20]]

| programme2        = '''[[Engineering:Cygnus (spacecraft)#Missions|Cygnus flights]]'''
| previous_mission2 = [[Engineering:Cygnus NG-12|NG-12]]
| next_mission2     = [[Engineering:Cygnus NG-14|NG-14]]
}}

'''NG-13''', previously known as '''OA-13''', was the fourteenth flight of the [[Company:Northrop Grumman|Northrop Grumman]] robotic resupply spacecraft [[Engineering:Cygnus (spacecraft)|Cygnus]] and its thirteenth flight to the [[Astronomy:International Space Station|International Space Station]] (ISS) under the [[Astronomy:Commercial Resupply Services|Commercial Resupply Services]] (CRS-1) contract with [[Organization:NASA|NASA]].<ref name=sfn-launchtracker/><ref name=seds-issschedule/> The mission launched on 15 February 2020 at 20:21:01 [[Physics:Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]] after nearly a week of delays.<ref name=sfn-20200215/> This is the second launch of Cygnus under the [[Astronomy:Commercial Resupply Services|CRS-2 contract]].<ref name=nsf-20180601/>

[[Company:Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems|Orbital ATK]] and [[Organization:NASA|NASA]] jointly developed a new space transportation system to provide commercial cargo resupply services to the International Space Station (ISS). Under the [[Astronomy:Commercial Orbital Transportation Services|Commercial Orbital Transportation Services]] (COTS) program, then [[Company:Orbital Sciences Corporation|Orbital Sciences]] designed and built [[Engineering:Antares (rocket)|Antares]], a medium-class launch vehicle, with Ukrainian specialists providing first stage structure.<ref name=rfe-20200227/>

[[Engineering:Cygnus (spacecraft)|Cygnus]], an advanced maneuvered spacecraft, mates a Pressurized Cargo Module, provided by Orbital's industrial partner [[Company:Thales Alenia Space|Thales Alenia Space]], with their [[Engineering:GEOStar|GEOStar]] satellite bus.<ref name=orbatkbr-fs00608oa3891/> [[Company:Northrop Grumman|Northrop Grumman]] purchased Orbital in June 2018; its ATK division was renamed [[Company:Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems|Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems]].<ref name="sn20180605"/>

== History ==
Cygnus NG-13 is the second Cygnus mission under [[Astronomy:Commercial Resupply Services|Commercial Resupply Services-2]].

Production and integration of Cygnus spacecraft are performed in Dulles, Virginia. The Cygnus service module is mated with the pressurized cargo module at the launch site, and mission operations are conducted from control centers in Dulles, Virginia and Houston, {{wipe|Texas}}.<ref name=orbatkbr-fs00608oa3891/>

The original launch attempt on 9 February 2020 was scheduled to launch at 22:39:30 UTC before being pushed to the end of its five-minute window at 22:44:29 UTC, only to end up being scrubbed due to a technical issue with a regulator at the launch pad with three minutes left in the countdown.<ref name="sfn20200210"/> The second launch attempt on 14 February 2020 at 20:43:34 UTC was scrubbed due to strong upper winds with less than ninety minutes left in the countdown. Cygnus NG-13 was launched successfully on 15 February 2020 at 20:21:01 UTC.

== Launch and early operations ==
After Northrop Grumman purchased Orbital ATK in June 2018, the mission was changed from OA-13 to NG-13. The Antares rocket was built and processed in the Horizontal Integration Facility over the course of six months. The rocket was rolled out to MARS Pad 0A where it was originally planned to launch 9 February 2020 but was scrubbed and delayed due to inclement weather and an issue with a regulator at the launch pad. The mission launched successfully on the 15 February 2020 at 20:21:01 UTC with no delay and no apparent problems. The Cygnus spacecraft arrived at the space station on 18 February 2020 at 09:05 UTC. [[Astronomy:Expedition 62|Expedition 62]] astronaut Andrew Morgan grappled the spacecraft using the station's robotic arm. After Cygnus capture, ground controllers commanded the station's arm to rotate and install Cygnus on the Earth-facing port of the station's Unity module at 11:16 UTC. The Cygnus spacecraft remained at the space station until 11 May 2020. The Saffire-IV experiment was conducted within Cygnus after it departs the station, and prior to [[Astronomy:Atmospheric entry|deorbit]], when it disposed of several tons of trash during [[Astronomy:Atmospheric entry|reentry]] into [[Earth:Atmosphere of Earth|Earth's atmosphere]], over the [[Earth:Pacific Ocean|Pacific Ocean]], on 29 May 2020.<ref name=Exp62/>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Attempt !! Planned
(times in UTC)
! Result !! Turnaround !! Reason !! Decision Point !! Weather go (%) !! Notes
|-
| 1 || 9 February 2020
22:44:29
| Scrubbed || 95 hrs
| Ground || 9 February 2020
22:41
| 100% || Scrubbed due to off-nominal data from ground support with less than three minutes in the count down.
|-
| 2 || 13 February 2020
21:06:03
| Delayed || 24 hrs || Weather || 11 February 2020
16:50
| 45% || Continuing concerns of bad weather.
|-
| 3 || 14 February 2020
20:43:34
| Scrubbed ||24 hrs || Weather || 14 February 2020
19:07
| 90% || Concerns of higher upper-level winds.
|-
| 4 || 15 February 2020
20:21:01
| Successful ||  
|  ||
| 85% || Launched successfully on time.
|}

[[File:NG-13 Cygnus Launch.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|Northrop Grumman launches Cygnus NG-13 Launch.]]

== Spacecraft ==
{{main|Engineering:Cygnus (spacecraft)}}

This is the tenth flight of the Enhanced-sized Cygnus PCM.<ref name=sn-20150817/> This [[Engineering:Cygnus (spacecraft)|Cygnus spacecraft]] is named to honor Robert H. Lawrence.<ref name="CollectSpace202001"/>

== Manifest ==
The Cygnus spacecraft is loaded with {{cvt|3377|kg}}:<ref name=NG13cargo/>

* Vehicle hardware:       {{cvt|1588|kg}}
* Science investigations: {{cvt|966|kg}}
* Crew supplies:          {{cvt|712|kg}}
* Spacewalk equipment:    {{cvt|81|kg}}
* Computer resources:     {{cvt|30|kg}}
* Total Cargo:            {{cvt|3377|kg}}
* Total Pressurized Cargo with packaging: {{cvt|3377|kg}}

== Hardware ==
NASA provided the following breakdown of the cargo's hardware for ISS:<ref name=NG13cargo/>

* '''Columbus Ka-band Terminal (COLKa) Assembly''': module enhancement hardware to upgrade the communications capability in Columbus science module
* '''Major Constituents Analyzer (MCA) Mass Spectrometer''': critical spare to support laboratories and connecting module operations of the MCAs to detect atmospheric constituents on board the space station
* '''External High Definition Camera (EHDC) Assembly''': major camera assembly spare that will replace a failed camera on-orbit during a spring 2020 EVA
* '''Water Stowage System (WSS) Resupply Tanks (RST)''': nine water tanks to support crew and hardware requirements during the 2020 timeframe
* '''Nitrogen/Oxygen Recharge System (NORS) Tanks''': two recharge tanks to replenish on-orbit oxygen to be utilized in upcoming spacewalks, and one air tank to support the Commercial Crew Vehicle (CCV) Emergency Breathing Air Assembly (CEBAA) hardware launching in 2020
* '''POLAR Flight Assembly''': cold stowage capability to support payload transportation to the ISS

== Research ==
The new experiments arriving at the orbiting laboratory will challenge and inspire future scientists and explorers, and provide valuable insight for researchers. Experiments will test new facilities for microscopic viewing and cell culturing, and particle identification will seek to better understand how fire spreads in microgravity and will study how bacteriophages behave in space. The Saffire-IV experiment will occur after Cygnus leaves the ISS.<ref name=NG13cargo/>

* '''Mobile SpaceLab''', a tissue and cell culturing facility that offers investigators a quick-turnaround platform to perform sophisticated microgravity biology experiments. This will be mounted in a designated EXPRESS rack on ISS <ref name=":0"/>
* '''Mochii''', initial demonstration of a new miniature scanning electron microscope (SEM) with spectroscopy
* '''Spacecraft Fire Experiment-IV''' (Saffire-IV), fourth in a series of experiments on fire and combustibles <ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/ng-13-research-highlights|title=New Research Launching to Station Aboard Northrop Grumman's 13th Resupply Mission|author=Gaskill, Melissa|date=29 January 2020|publisher=NASA|access-date=30 January 2020|archive-date=8 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200208011929/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/ng-13-research-highlights|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>
* '''OsteoOmics''' examines [[Biology:Osteoblast|osteoblast]] cells at a molecular level to better understand bone loss <ref name=":0"/>
* '''Phage Evolution''' studies the effects of microgravity and radiation exposure on [[Biology:Bacteriophage|bacteriophage]]s and their hosts

== Cubesats ==
[[Engineering:CubeSat|Cubesats]] planned for release: Red-Eye 2, DeMI, [[Engineering:TechEdSat|TechEdSat 10]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/cygnus-pcm-e.htm|title=Cygnus-PCM (enhanced)|publisher=Gunter's Space Page|access-date=12 February 2020}}</ref> A [[Engineering:CubeSat|CubeSat]] payload for the [[Astronomy:Communications satellite|communications]] provider Lynk (2020-011D) was ejected from the Slingshot deployer on Cygnus on 13 May 2020 at 23:25 UTC. Another payload (another Lynk, or perhaps WIDAR) remained attached to Cygnus and deployed a communications antenna. The payloads were launched aboard [[Engineering:SpaceX CRS-20|SpaceX CRS-20]] and installed on the Cygnus hatch by the ISS crew.<ref name="jsr778"/> The Cygnus host a [[Organization:NASA|NASA]] combustion experiment inside its pressurized cabin before [[Company:Northrop Grumman|Northrop Grumman]] controllers command the spacecraft to a destructive re-entry over the [[Earth:Pacific Ocean|South Pacific Ocean]] on 29 May 2020.<ref name="sfn20200511"/>

== Disposal ==
Cygnus NG-13 is another test of the Cygnus External Payload Carrier. Europe's [[High Definition Earth Viewing cameras|HDEV]] experiment which has provided outstanding views of the Earth would return home on Cygnus NG-13.

== See also ==
* [[Astronomy:Uncrewed spaceflights to the International Space Station|Uncrewed spaceflights to the International Space Station]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name=sfn-launchtracker>{{cite web|url=http://spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html|title=Worldwide launch schedule|access-date=12 February 2015|publisher=Spaceflight Now}}</ref>

<ref name=Exp62>{{cite web|url=http://www.spacefacts.de/iss/english/exp_62.htm|publisher=SpaceFacts (German)|title=ISS Expedition 62|first=Joachim|last=Becker|date=9 March 2020}}</ref>

<ref name="jsr778">{{cite web|url=https://planet4589.org/space/jsr/back/news.778.txt|publisher=Jonathan's Space Report|title=Space Report No. 778|first=Jonathan C.|last=McDowell|date=26 May 2020}}</ref>

<ref name="sfn20200210">{{cite web|url=https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/02/10/antares-launch-scrubbed-due-to-faulty-ground-support-equipment/|title=Antares launch scrubbed due to faulty ground support equipment |publisher=Spaceflight Now|last=Clark|first=Stephen|date=10 February 2020}}</ref>

<ref name=sfn-20200215>{{cite web|url=https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/02/15/antares-rocket-lifts-off-from-virginia-on-space-station-cargo-mission/|title=Antares rocket lifts off from Virginia on space station cargo mission|last=Clark|first=Stephen|publisher=Spaceflight Now|date=15 February 2020|access-date=15 February 2020}}</ref>

<ref name="sfn20200511">{{cite web|url=https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/05/11/cygnus-departs-station-beginning-extended-experimental-mission/|title=Cygnus departs station, beginning extended experimental mission |publisher=Spaceflight Now|first=Stephen|last=Clark|date=11 May 2020}}</ref>

<ref name="sn20180605">{{cite news|url=http://spacenews.com/acquisition-of-orbital-atk-approved-company-renamed-northrop-grumman-innovation-systems/|title=Acquisition of Orbital ATK approved, company renamed Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems|first=Sandra|last=Erwin|publisher=SpaceNews|date=5 June 2018|access-date=23 July 2018}}</ref>

<ref name=nsf-20180601>{{cite news|url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/06/orbital-atk-crs2-cygnus-flights-antares-commercial/|title=Orbital ATK looks ahead to CRS-2 Cygnus flights, Antares on the commercial market|publisher=NASASpaceflight.com|first=Chris|last=Gebhardt|date=1 June 2018|access-date=2 June 2018}}</ref>

<ref name=rfe-20200227>{{cite web|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/u-s--ukraine-antares-rocket-lifts-international-space-station/30438055.html|title=U.S.-Ukraine Produced Rocket Lifts Off, Takes Supplies To International Space Station|publisher=Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty|date=February 17, 2020|access-date=12 March 2020}}</ref>

<ref name="CollectSpace202001">{{cite web|url=http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-012220a-northrop-grumman-ng13-robert-lawrence.html|title=Northrop Grumman names Cygnus spacecraft for first African American astronaut|last=Pearlman|first=Robert Z.|publisher=collectSPACE|date=20 January 2020|access-date=23 January 2020}}</ref>

<ref name=orbatkbr-fs00608oa3891>{{cite web|url=https://www.northropgrumman.com/wp-content/uploads/Cygnus-Fact-Sheet.pdf|title=Cygnus Fact Sheet |publisher=Northrop Grumman|date=2020|access-date=November 24, 2022}}</ref>

<ref name=seds-issschedule>{{cite web|url=http://spider.seds.org/shuttle/iss-sche.html|title=International Space Station Flight Schedule|date=15 May 2013|publisher=Students for the Exploration and Development of Space}}</ref>

<ref name=sn-20150817>{{cite web|url=http://spacenews.com/nasa-orders-two-more-iss-cargo-missions-from-orbital-atk/|title=NASA Orders Two More ISS Cargo Missions From Orbital ATK|last=Leone|first=Dan |website=spacenews.com|publisher=SpaceNews|date=17 August 2015|access-date=17 August 2015}}</ref>

<ref name=NG13cargo>{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/northrop_grumman_crs-13_overview_0.pdf|title=Overview CRS-13 (NG-13) Mission|publisher=NASA|access-date=14 February 2020}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>
}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1923 Spacecraft Fire Experiment-IV mission page]
* [https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8079 Phage Evolution misson pag]
* [https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1149 OsteoOmics mission page]
* [https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=7657 Mochii mission page]
* [https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=7692 Mobile SpaceLab mission page]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5ApQ8k_Gt0 Footage of the pre-launch, launch and post-launch from NASA TV]

{{Cygnus spaceflights}}
{{Uncrewed ISS flights}}

[[Category:Cygnus (spacecraft)]]
[[Category:Supply vehicles for the International Space Station]]

{{Sourceattribution|Cygnus NG-13}}