The Cygnus spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station with a damaged wing

The Cygnus cargo spacecraft has finally docked safely at the International Space Station after a challenging journey that failed to deploy one of its two solar arrays.

In NASA's new mission to provide supplies and equipment to the International Space Station, Northrop Grumman's "Cygnus" cargo spacecraft was launched into Space on Monday, November 7 (November 16) and delivered more than 3,700 kilograms of cargo to

But on its way, the spacecraft failed to open one of the two solar arrays that power it. In a mission update, NASA stated that "Northrop Grumman is collecting data on the deployment of the second array and is working closely with NASA."

The reason for the malfunction in the solar array deployment process is still unknown. The US Space agency said in this context: "After initial troubleshooting efforts failed, Northrop Grumman and NASA decided not to open the faulty array in order to focus on the spacecraft's entry into the station."

Thus, finally, with only one solar array installed, the Cygnus spacecraft was able to reach the Station on Wednesday at 05:20 am Eastern time zone (13:59 Tehran time) and NASA astronaut Nicole Mann using The Canadarm2 robotic arm guided it to the Unity module.

This is a standard procedure for capturing Cygnus and is not the result of an anomaly in the spacecraft's solar panel. In fact, astronauts use this 17-meter Canadian-made arm to grab objects and even parts of the International Space Station.

Space Station layout after Cygnus NG-18 spacecraft docking
Credit: NASA

This is Northrop Grumman's 18th resupply mission to the Space Station It is International and therefore known as NG-18. During NASA's commercial procurement contract, various companies deliver equipment, supplies needed by astronauts and scientific experiments to the Earth Orbital Station.

The Cygnus spacecraft in this mission honors Sally Ride, the first American woman. which arrived in Space and made history in 1983, was named.

This cargo capsule delivered various cargoes to the station, including a 3D printer to produce human tissues, a new camera, an experiment on plant growth in Space and is the first satellite developed by Uganda and Zimbabwe. Cygnus will remain attached to the International Space Station until its fiery fall into the Earth's atmosphere in January 2023 (D1401).

Cover photo: Cygnus cargo capsule approaching the International Space Station; The unfolded array and the station's robotic arm can also be seen in the image.
Credit: NASA

Source: Gizmodo