Northrop Grumman’s 16th contracted commercial resupply mission with NASA to the International Space Station will deliver more than 8,200 pounds of science and research, crew supplies, and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew. This will be the fifth mission under Northrop Grumman’s Commercial Resupply Services-2 contract with NASA. Launch is set for Tuesday, Aug. 10, at 5:56 p.m. EDT. Launch activities will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

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Northrop Grumman named the Cygnus spacecraft for its 16th commercial resupply services mission after former NASA astronaut Ellison Onizuka (OH’-nuh-zoo-kuh), who they selected in honor of his prominence as the first Asian American astronaut. Onizuka was hired in 1978 in the first class of diverse astronauts, and his first spaceflight was aboard space shuttle Discovery in January 1985 for STS-51-C. He lost his life aboard the space shuttle Challenger in 1986, along with six other crew members. Credits: NASA

Arrival & Departure

This Cygnus spacecraft, named the SS Ellison Onizuka, will arrive at the space station on Aug. 12. NASA astronaut Megan McArthur will be prime to capture the spacecraft with the Canadarm2, backed up by ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet. Following capture, flight controllers in Houston will command the installation of Cygnus on the Earth-facing side of the Unity module, where it will remain for about three months.

NASA also photos