Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft is pictured attached to the Canadarm2 robotic arm moments after NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick maneuvered the robotic arm to capture the spacecraft ahead of installation to the Earth-facing port of the Unity module. Credit: NASA TV
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft successfully docked with the 
The Cygnus space freighter is pictured in the grips of the Canadarm2 robotic arm shortly after its capture delivering 8,200 pounds of science and supplies to the orbital outpost. Credit: NASA TV
Capture and Installation
NASA Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick captured Cygnus with the Canadarm2 robotic arm at 3:11 a.m. 
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft, atop a SpaceX 9 Falcon rocket, soars from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Sunday, August 4, 2024, for the 21st Northrop Grumman commercial resupply mission for NASA. Credit: SpaceX
Unloading and Research Commencement
Dominick later joined NASA Flight Engineer Jeanette Epps and conducted cable connections and leak checks before opening Cygnus’ hatch and entering the space freighter for the first time. Next, the rest of the NASA astronauts including Tracy C. Dyson, Mike Barratt, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore started offloading research samples stowed in Cygnus and preserved in portable science freezers and double coldbags. Those samples were then placed inside station science freezers in preparation for upcoming research. The orbital residents will soon be exploring liquid and gas flows, centripetal force, DNA repair mechanisms, cellular expansion, and more.
NASA and its international partners are sending scientific investigations on Northrop Grumman’s 21st commercial resupply services mission. Flying aboard the company’s Cygnus spacecraft are tests of water recovery technology and a process to produce stem cells in microgravity, studies of the effects of spaceflight on microorganism DNA and liver tissue growth, and live science demonstrations for students. Credit: NASA
Scientific Activities and Maintenance
During a break in the cargo activities, Dominick set up photography gear in the cupola and took pictures of the Moon to measure sunshine reflected from the Earth. Dyson worked in the Destiny laboratory module and connected a microscope to an advanced research incubator to support space biology investigations.
The orbital lab’s three cosmonauts representing
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