Press Release

NanoRacks Completes Fifth External Cygnus Deployment, Six More CubeSats in Orbit

By SpaceRef Editor
July 16, 2018
Filed under , ,

Yesterday evening, NanoRacks successfully deployed six CubeSats from the Company’s CubeSat deployer mounted on the outside of the Cygnus spacecraft. This brings the overall count to 223 small satellites deployed into low-Earth orbit.
 
The ninth contracted resupply mission from Orbital ATK (now Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems) launched on May 21, 2018, carrying NanoRacks’ fifth mission providing opportunities for CubeSat deployment from Cygnus after the vehicle departs from the International Space Station. Prior to launch, the NanoRacks External Cygnus Deployer is installed on the exterior of the Cygnus service module with the capability to deploy satellites after the spacecraft completes its primary space station commercial resupply mission.
 
The Cygnus spacecraft was raised to over 480 kilometers after departing the International Space Station before the CubeSats were released.
 
NanoRacks deployed the following satellites:
 
Lemurs (4 Satellites) – Spire Global, Inc.
AeroCube 12A – Aerospace Corporation
AeroCube 12B – Aerospace Corporation
 
“This mission truly builds on NanoRacks vision of repurposing in-space hardware,” says NanoRacks Chief Technology Officer, Mike Lewis. “This Cygnus spacecraft carried out a primary mission to the Space Station, re-boosted the Station, and then deployed numerous small satellites from a diverse group of customers. We’re proud to remain a key player in these mission-extending operations while simultaneously providing reliable opportunities for the satellite community.
 
Last week, NanoRacks completed the Company’s 14th CubeSat deployment mission from the International Space Station.
 
NanoRacks would like to thank Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems and the NASA International Space Station Program Office for their continued support of NanoRacks satellite deployment programs.

SpaceRef staff editor.