NASA has named the next Northrop Grumman NG-15 Cygnus cargo ship after its legendary and exemplary mathematician, Katherine Johnson, who broke the barriers of gender and race in the space agency. The tradition of commemorating exemplary members of NASA is done via naming new Cygnus cargo ships, soon looking at a launch later in the month.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), would soon be debuting the world to Katherine Johnson, immortalized in the form of a Cygnus cargo ship that would bring researches to an orbiting laboratory. The former NASA mathematician is one of the most celebrated employees, after her historical contributions to help in space advancements.
The Northrop Grumman-made Cygnus cargo ship would be issuing the 15th spacecraft to help NASA advance in scientific research that is done overhead, as part of an orbiting facility in the International Space Station. The NG-15 that would launch near the end of February also goes alongside Black Heritage Month, commemorating Katherine Johnson who is part of the African-American community.
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NASA Northrop Grumman Cygnus Cargo Ship Launch Date
According to Northrop Grumman, the NG-15 Cygnus Cargo Ship would launch on Saturday, February 20, 2021, on the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) Pad 0A that is located on Wallops Island, Virginia. The launch would limit the members of the media from attending the event but would live stream the event on Northrop Grumman or NASA's live.
A Cygnus spacecraft and Canadarm 2 robotic arm. Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft successfully lifted off on top of the Antares rocket for its 11th resupply mission to the ISS. The spacecraft will deliver scientific equipment and supplies that will support ongoing experiments onboard the orbiting laboratory.
The Cygnus Cargo Ship would be strapped above an Antares rocket, also made by Northrop Grumman, and would be arriving at the ISS' orbiting lab two days after its launch from the planet. Research materials include testing the muscle strength in worms, microgravity's effect in artificial retina production, and Hewlett Packard's (HP) SpaceBorne Computer-2.
Northrop Grumman Names NG-15 Cygnus Cargo Ship to Katherine Johnson
In 2016, a building at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia was named in honor of Katherine Johnson.
As part of the Black Heritage Month, Northrop Grumman took the opportunity to use its Cygnus naming tradition to commemorate one of the most influential black women in NASA's history, Katherine Johnson. The NASA mathematician has contributed massive data and information with regards to space advancements, particularly in the early 1960s.
Who is Katherine Johnson?
According to NASA, Katherine Johnson graduated from West Virginia University at the age of 18, pursuing a career in Mathematics, where she is exemplary and an expert. She began working for NASA in the early 1960s, in which her equations were used for revolutionizing the Moon missions of the era.
Johnson's geometry was used to determine the path and orbit towards the Moon, and it was soon used to bring humans to and from the lunar surface. The mathematician has worked for NASA for an extensive career of 30 years, retiring in 1986, and spending her days until February 24, 2020, where she died at 101 years old.
She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama for her works and contributions in NASA, and now, Northrop Grumman's NG-15 Cygnus Cargo ship.
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Written by Isaiah Alonzo
