Share with friends and circles of friends with wechat scanning QR code < / P > < p > on July 4, the "Cygnus" cargo spacecraft of Northrop Grumman, a U.S. defense contractor, recently successfully provided orbital lifting boost support for the international space station for the first time, which may ensure orbital safety without the help of Russia

the Cygnus ng-17 "piers sellers" is the first American spacecraft to provide boost support for the major orbital adjustment of the international space station since the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011. Previously, the Russian "progress" cargo spacecraft has always been the main auxiliary power source for the international space station to re accelerate, attitude control and avoid space debris

Steve Krein, vice president of civil and commercial space and tactical space systems of Northrop Grumman, said in a statement: "Cygnus boost has helped improve the key ability to maintain and support the operation of the space station. At the same time, it also shows the great potential of Cygnus to support the international space station and future space exploration efforts."

on June 25, Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft started the delta speed engine of the bogie, which lasted a total of 301 seconds, helping to raise the perigee orbit of the international space station by about 0.8 kilometers and the apogee orbit by nearly 0.2 kilometers, to verify that "this enhanced capability can provide standard services for NASA". The company said that this Cygnus mission is the first time it has tested this capability as a standard service of NASA

Cygnus has been docking with the international space station since February, but it has left on June 28. As early as 2018, the ninth resupply mission of Cygnus spacecraft helped raise the orbital height of the international space station by 90 meters and tested its boost ability by briefly starting the main engine for 50 seconds < p > the launch of the propeller on June 25 is actually Northrop Grumman's second attempt to lift the orbit of the international space station with Cygnus ng-17. On June 20, this action stopped after 5 seconds. Northrop Grumman said that the stop is automatically triggered, which is a "preventive measure". The engineer's investigation shows that the observed parameters meet the expectations and are acceptable

it is crucial for the United States that Cygnus can undertake the task of boosting the space station. Since the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, many people have begun to worry about the inability to maneuver the international space station without Russian support. Dmitry Rogozin, director of the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos), has said that Russia may terminate its cooperation with the United States in space, including its support for the international space station

nasa said that under normal circumstances, all the boost forces of the international space station are provided by the Russian module and the Russian cargo spacecraft. A group of thrusters in the Russian Zvezda module module module of the international space station can be used, but they are mainly reserved to prevent Soyuz from being unable to perform its mission, because the propellant on the space station is limited. The American gyroscope is responsible for the daily attitude control or direction control of the space station

nasa said, "Russian thrusters are used for attitude control in dynamic events such as the docking of the international space station, and provide support for attitude control recovery when the gyroscope reaches the control limit."

of course, since Cygnus has left, the international space station still relies on Russian spacecraft for any necessary operational support. Although SpaceX executives have hinted that their dragon spacecraft can help operate the space station, they do not yet have this ability

Northrop Grumman said that providing boost support is the result of a series of improvements to its spacecraft since its first space station mission in 2013. Previously, the company increased the cargo volume that can be transported to the space station, equipped with larger cargo holds, added lighter and more powerful solar panels and fuel tanks, and upgraded many systems, making boosting possible

so far, Cygnus spacecraft has delivered more than 5000 kilograms of equipment and supplies to astronauts on the international space station. Cygnus was filled with garbage before leaving, and made a controlled re-entry over the Pacific Ocean on June 29, successfully returning to the ground. (small)