Cygnus CRS-6 (OA 6, SS Rick Husband)

Spacecraft nº:

US spacecraft nº:

Cygnus-crs6-ATK patch

Cygnus-crs6-NASA patch

Description:

Mission details:

• On Mar 23, 2016 Cygnus cargo ship OA-6, "SS Rick Husband", was launched aboard Atlas V flight AV-064 from Cape Canaveral. A mixture ratio problem on the Atlas caused an 5-seconds-early first stage cutoff, which required a full extra minute's burn on the Centaur upper stage to make the correct orbit. After deploying Cygnus, the Centaur's second burn was intended to deorbit the stage south of Australia, but because of insufficient remaining propellant the engine cutoff early, and reentry occurred downrange south of New Zealand.
• SS Rick Husband arrived at the ISS on schedule, and was grappled by the Canadarm-2 at 1051 UTC Mar 26.
  
  

  Cygnus arrival on ISS

  Cygnus release

  
  
• After delivering almost 7,500 pounds (3,400 kg) of cargo to support dozens of science experiments from around the world, the Orbital ATK Cygnus OA-6 "S.S. Rick Husband" cargo spacecraft left the International Space Station on June 14, 2016.
  Ground controllers detached the Cygnus spacecraft, which arrived at the station March 26, 2016, from the Earth-facing side of the station's Unity module using the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Robotics controllers maneuvered Cygnus into place and Exp. 47 robotic arm operators Timothy Kopra and Timothy Peake gave the command for its 13:30 UTC release.
  Five hours after departure, the Saffire-I experiment took place onboard the uncrewed cargo craft. Saffire-I provides a new way to study a realistic fire on a spacecraft. This hasn't been possible in the past because the risks for performing such studies on crewed spacecraft are too high. Instruments on the returning Cygnus measured flame growth, oxygen use and more. Results could determine microgravity flammability limits for several spacecraft materials, help to validate NASA's material selection criteria, and help scientists understand how microgravity and limited oxygen affect flame size. The investigation is crucial for the safety of current and future space missions.
  Cygnus also deployed also four of the five LEMUR CubeSats from an external NRCSD-E deployer on June 21, 2016, part of a remote sensing satellite constellation that provides global ship tracking and weather monitoring. Lemur 2 Beccadeway failed to deploy.
• Spacecraft was de-orbited over the Pacific Ocean on June 22.53. It carried the REBR-W2 re-entry breakup experiment, but no data was received.
• Cygnus made its deorbit burn and reentered over the South Pacific at 1329 UTC Jun 22, 2016.
  

External links:

• Cygnus fact sheet

Astrophilately covers:

Launch cancel Houston

CRS-6 Berting to the ISS

CRS-6 release cancel Houston