Despite a jammed solar panel, a Northrop Grumman capsule successfully delivered several tons of supplies to the International Space Station on Wednesday, arriving two days after its launch from Virginia. Following liftoff, only one of the cargo ship’s two round solar panels opened, and attempts to release the stuck panel were unsuccessful. Nevertheless, flight controllers managed to draw sufficient power for the journey with just one operational panel.
As the capsule approached the space station, the crew captured images to aid engineers in diagnosing the issue. NASA astronaut Nicole Mann used the station’s robot arm to secure the spacecraft, named the S.S. Sally Ride in honor of America’s first woman in space. According to Cyrus Dhalla, a vice president at the company, debris from the Antares rocket had become lodged in one of the solar panel’s mechanisms during liftoff, preventing its proper release.
The cargo, totaling 8,200 pounds (3,700 kilograms), included essential brackets for an upcoming spacewalk to expand the station’s power capabilities. Additionally, the supplies included apples, blueberries, cheese, peanut butter, and ice cream for the station’s multinational crew of seven, representing the United States, Russia, and Japan. Northrop Grumman is one of the two companies responsible for delivering cargo for NASA, with SpaceX scheduled to launch a shipment later this month.
