Cygnus

Mission Profile

Cygnus is Northrop Grumman's commercial cargo spacecraft for ISS resupply, developed under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program and first launched on 18 September 2013. The original standard Cygnus used a smaller pressurized cargo module before being upgraded to the Enhanced variant with greater volume. The vehicle approaches the ISS for capture by the Canadarm2 robotic arm and is expendable, departing loaded with waste for destructive reentry. In addition to cargo delivery, Cygnus has been used as an ISS reboost vehicle to raise the station's orbit and as a host for externally mounted small satellite deployers, expanding its utility beyond pure logistics.