Northrop Grumman’s NG-20 Cygnus resupply spacecraft, named the S.S. Patricia “Patty” Hilliard Robertson, has been transferred to the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in preparation for its upcoming launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station in 2024. (Image credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky)
An astronaut who tragically passed away before her journey to the International Space Station (ISS) is being honored through the dedication of Northrop Grumman’s first cargo spacecraft to fly on a SpaceX rocket.
The S.S. Patricia “Patty” Hilliard Robertson is scheduled to launch no earlier than January 29, 2024, atop a Falcon 9 launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. After a two-day rendezvous, the Cygnus supply ship will be captured by the space station’s robotic arm and berthed to the Earth-facing port on the Unity node for the Expedition 70 crew to unload.
“At Northrop Grumman, we’re proud to support NASA and the astronauts aboard the International Space Station by providing crew supplies, equipment and scientific experiments on our Cygnus spacecraft,” said Doug Hurley, Northrop Grumman’s director of corporate development and former NASA astronaut, in a video declaration.
Related: Facts about Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft
NASA astronaut Patricia Hilliard “Patty” Robertson. (Image credit: NASA)
A medical doctor and space medicine fellow, Robertson was also a multi-engine rated flight instructor and dedicated aerobatic pilot with over 1,500 hours of flight time. Sadly, on May 22, 2001, just two years after being selected to become a NASA astronaut and completing her basic training, Robertson was involved in a small private-plane crash in Manvel, Texas.
Two days later, she passed away as an outcome of her injuries
“At just 38 years of age at the time of her death, she had already achieved so much, and her legacy in medicine, aviation and space exploration continues to inspire generations that have followed,” said Hurley.
Robertson was supporting the ISS Expedition 2 crew, coordinating activities between the Astronaut Office and Mission Control, when she passed away. She was expected to be assigned to her own flight to the spaceport station the following year.
“Members of Patty’s astronaut class carried a picture of her on their space shuttle mission, along with her NASA name tag as a tribute,” Hurley said, referring to a memorial display that remains aboard the spaceport station to this day.
One of those same classmates, Tracy Caldwell-Dyson, is scheduled to launch to the ISS while the S.S. Patricia “Patty” Hilliard Robertson is berthed at the station.
The Robertson is Northrop Grumman’s 20th Cygnus spacecraft to fly since its first demonstration mission in September 2013. Over the past 10 years, the company has delivered more than 138,000 pounds (63,000 kilograms) of cargo to the spaceport station. » …
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