Canadarm2 to perform its 50th cosmic catch of a cargo ship
Canadarm2 releasing the Cygnus spacecraft after its mission to the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA)
2024-08-01
On August 3, Northrop Grumman's Cygnus cargo ship is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on a resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Cygnus will deliver supplies and equipment, including wearables for the Canadian Bio-Monitor system. Once in orbit, Canadarm2, the robotic arm on the ISS, will perform a cosmic catch of the ship and berth it to the Station.
Initially, Canadarm2 was not designed to perform cosmic catches, but started carrying out this complex manoeuvre back in 2009. While all crewed vehicles autonomously dock to the ISS, some uncrewed cargo ships are captured and berthed to the ISS to deliver essential supplies, hardware and resources for the crew.
Engineers and flight controllers at Canadian Space Agency headquarters in Longueuil and at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston oversee the planning, execution, and monitoring of Canadarm2's cosmic catches, with support from astronauts onboard the ISS.
Live coverage of Cygnus's launch will begin on NASA TV on August 3, starting at 11:10 a.m. ET.
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