Northrop Grumman Awarded Additional Cargo Resupply Missions to the International Space Station
November 11, 2020
DULLES, Va. – Nov. 11, 2020 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has been awarded two additional missions by NASA under the Commercial Resupply Services contract-2 (CRS-2) with launches occurring in 2023. Northrop Grumman will deliver a combined total of approximately 16,500 lbs. of cargo to the International Space Station during these missions.
“As a trusted and reliable partner to NASA, Northrop Grumman has played a critical role in keeping the International Space Station operational since 2014,” said Frank DeMauro, vice president and general manager, tactical space systems, Northrop Grumman. “With these additional flights to the orbiting laboratory, we will provide services to both NASA and our commercial partners and continue to use Cygnus not as just a cargo delivery and disposal vehicle, but as a platform for science and technology research, and development opportunities.”
For the additional missions, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft will be carried into orbit by the company’s Antares launch vehicle from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia. The company is currently providing resupply services to the station through the CRS-2 contract which began in 2016. Under this contract and the CRS-1 contract, Northrop Grumman has provided more than 150,000 lbs. of cargo logistics for the station.
https://news.northropgrumman.com/news/releases/northrop-grumman-awarded-additional-cargo-resupply-missions-to-the-international-space-station
Once Dreamchaser starts flying cargo missions will be shared between three vehicles. On plus side commercial crew missions by Axiom to station start next year so will be more cargo required. New
Axiom module in 2024 will result in few additional crew missions a year.
Once Dreamchaser starts flying cargo missions will be shared between three vehicles. On plus side commercial crew missions by Axiom to station start next year so will be more cargo required. New
Axiom module in 2024 will result in few additional crew missions a year.
NASA isn't responsible for cargo for private missions. I am assuming that crew Dragon would bring up any cargo needed by the private astronauts on the same flight.
Once Dreamchaser starts flying cargo missions will be shared between three vehicles. On plus side commercial crew missions by Axiom to station start next year so will be more cargo required. New
Axiom module in 2024 will result in few additional crew missions a year.
NASA isn't responsible for cargo for private missions. I am assuming that crew Dragon would bring up any cargo needed by the private astronauts on the same flight.
There is a limited amount of subsidized cargo that the expanded commercial utilization program will allow for. Plus, the daily rate includes stuff like food and air. I doubt that this will translate into additional flights in a meaningful way though. The commercial utilization cargo will likely just displace other ISS utilization activities (which is why it is limited in duration, sorties per year and cargo transportation).
The Axiom module will be run as private station, with additional crew and cargo vehicles purchased by Axiom.
The Axiom module will be run as private station, with additional crew and cargo vehicles purchased by Axiom.
By your logic, this tangent is off topic from the OP, which was about NG CRS2 contract awards by NASA.
It seems that NASA can only provide 175 kg of cargo to private missions (so it's bring your own cargo for the most part):
To ensure a competitive market, NASA initially is making available five percent of the agency’s annual allocation of crew resources and cargo capability, including 90 hours of crew time and 175 kg of cargo launch capability, but will limit the amount provided to any one company.
See this thread for more on the commercialization of ISS:
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=48301.msg1954409#msg1954409