The American Cygnus ship docked to the ISS using the Canadarm2 manipulator arm
The American Cygnus cargo ship docked to the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday, February 21. The ship was docked using a manipulator arm. This is reported by TASS with reference to the broadcast of the docking on the website of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Cygnus docked to the station at 15:02 Moscow time. NASA astronauts Raja Charri and Kayla Barron, who are part of the ISS crew, brought the ship to the airlock of the Unity module using the Canadarm2 manipulator arm.
The Northrop Grumman Corporation ship delivered more than 3.7 tons of cargo to the ISS. Cygnus has food, spare parts and research equipment on board. The space truck also delivered equipment for studying skin aging in zero gravity, the effect of drugs on tumors, as well as a new system for growing plants in orbit.
The launch of the ship using the Antares launch vehicle took place on February 19 from the spaceport on Wallops Island. The ship is scheduled to be undocked in May. Cygnus will burn up in the dense layers of the atmosphere after it separates from the station with a cargo of waste and garbage.
In February, it became known that the ISS operation is planned to continue until 2030. After that, the station will be flooded at the Nemo Point.
In January 2021, a NASA representative announced that Cygnus would deliver components to replenish air supplies after a leak to the ISS.