Northrop Grumman Cargo Ship Heads to ISS

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Launch of the Cygnus spacecraft earlier today on its way to the ISS. (NASA)

Earlier today, Northrop Grumman launched a resupply spacecraft via a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station (ISS). The Cygnus spacecraft is conducting its 20th mission to the station, making it reliable workhorse as NASA awaits even more commercial partners to come online.

According to NASA, the resupply spacecraft contains numerous experiments, including:

  • the first surgical robot on the space station;
  • an orbit re-entry platform that collects thermal protection systems data;
  • a 3D cartilage cell culture that maintains healthy cartilage in a lower gravity; and
  • a metal 3D printer, an autonomous semiconductor manufacturing platform.

A surgical robot you ask? You can read more about this Miniaturized In-vivo Robotic Assistant (MIRA) by visiting this Gizmodo site.