Cygnus NG-22
| Names | CRS NG-22 |
|---|---|
| Mission type | ISS resupply |
| Operator | Northrop Grumman |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | Enhanced Cygnus |
| Manufacturer |
|
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | June 2025 (planned) |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 Block 5 (planned) |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral (planned) |
| Contractor | SpaceX (planned) |
| End of mission | |
| Disposal | Pre-flight damage |
| Declared | March 5, 2025 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit (planned) |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit (planned) |
| Cargo | |
| Mass | 3,857Â kg (8,503Â lb) (planned) |
| Pressurised | 3,843Â kg (8,472Â lb) (planned) |
| Unpressurised | 14Â kg (31Â lb) (planned) |
Cygnus NG-22 was a cancelled Cygnus resupply mission to the International Space Station. The mission, scheduled for June 2025, had been cancelled on March 5, 2025, due to damage to the Pressurized Service Module during transit from Europe to the space coast.[1]
Background
[edit]The Cygnus was developed initially by Orbital Sciences Corporation before the company was ultimately purchased by Northrop Grumman in 2018.[2] The spacecraft consists of two parts, a Service Module (SM) and a Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM), the latter of which is manufactured by Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy and has to be shipped to the Space Systems Processing Facility to be mated to the former prior to launch.[3]
Incident
[edit]On March 5 NASA issued a statement that it was âassessing potential mission impactsâ to NG-22 after its PCM arrived damaged to the Kennedy Space Center.[4] On March 7 Northrop Grumman reported that the freighter carrying NG-22 had been involved in a âcommercial shipping accidentâ damaging both the PCM and its shipping container.[5]
Aftermath
[edit]NG-22 was scheduled for launch in June 2025.[6] In order to maintain the ISS' resupply schedule, SpaceX's CRS-32 had its cargo adjusted replacing many science payloads with more food and supplies while the launch of SpaceX CRS-33 and Cygnus NG-23 where accelerated.[6] Additionally, the 'handover' period from the new SpaceX Crew-10 and the departing SpaceX Crew-9 would be shortened to conserve supplies.[4]
In their cancellation announcement NASA stated that they would cooperate with Northrop Grumman's engineers to determine what repairs would be necessary to return NG-22 to service.[1] However, by March 27, Northrop Grumman announced they would be skipping the NG-22 mission entirely to instead fly Cygnus NG-23.[3] It was reported to The Register that NG-22 would be returned to Turin for repairs.[3]
During the pre-launch telecon for NG-23 Northrop Grumman's Vice President Ryan Tintner stated NG-22 would fly once it is repaired but offered no timetable.[7]
References
[edit]- 1 2 Wall, Mike. "NASA cancels cargo launch to ISS due to damaged Cygnus spacecraft". Space.com. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
- â "Northrop Grumman to Acquire Orbital ATK for US$9.2 Billion" (PDF) (Press release). Falls Church and Dulles, Virginia: Northrop Grumman Corporation. 18 September 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 January 2018.
- 1 2 3 Speed, Richard. "ISS resupply and trash pickup craft postponed indefinitely after Cygnus container crunch". The Register. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
- 1 2 Foust, Jeff. "Cygnus issue causes changes in ISS cargo missions". SpaceNews. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
- â Foust, Jeff. "Cygnus mission to ISS scrapped after finding spacecraft damage". SpaceNews. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
- 1 2 Robinson-Smith, Will. "NASA, Northrop Grumman postpone Cygnus XL arrival to ISS following propulsion issue". SpaceFlight Now. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
- â Smith, Martha. "What's Happening in Space Policy September 14-20, 2025". SpacePolicyOnline.com. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
