Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo ship reaches the ISS after engine issue

A Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station on Thursday, one day after an engine shutdown during ascent delayed the delivery. The extra-large freighter, carrying about 11,000 pounds of supplies, includes food, science experiments and hardware for the station’s toilets and other life-support systems. It launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, three days earlier, but a premature shutdown prevented it from reaching the lab on schedule.

Astronauts used the space station’s robotic arm to pluck the Cygnus from orbit as it passed over Africa, guiding the capsule to a port on the station for berthing. The capture marked a successful return of the station’s logistics routine after the brief hiccup on ascent.

The delay was caused by a premature main-engine cut-off during ascent. Engineers traced the problem to an overly conservative software setting, a fix that allowed ground teams to approve the capsule’s approach and docking despite the earlier anomaly. NASA said the issue appears isolated to this flight and does not affect the station’s broader cargo schedule. The agency notes that NASA contracts with Northrop Grumman as well as SpaceX to keep the orbiting lab stocked, and that Russia also conducts regular supply missions. Japan is poised to resume deliveries in the near term.

This mission also marks the first flight of the extra-large version of Cygnus, an iteration designed to carry larger payloads to the station. The development underscores ongoing efforts to maintain a steady flow of experiments, food, spare parts and life-support hardware for the crew aboard the ISS.

The Cygnus supply run complements Russia’s Progress ships and Japan's forthcoming resupply missions, highlighting the multinational nature of life in low Earth orbit. By providing steady cargo deliveries, these missions support ongoing research ranging from biology and materials science to Earth observation and technology demonstrations, helping to sustain long-duration stays aboard the station while NASA and its international partners plan for future exploration missions.