Northrop Grumman’s NG-20 Cygnus resupply spacecraft, named the S.S. Patricia “Patty” Hilliard Robertson, is being readied for launch in 2024. This spacecraft will board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on its way to the International Space Station and is currently in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
An astronaut who died from injuries sustained in a plane crash before she could launch to the International Space Station (ISS) is being memorialized with the naming of Northrop Grumman’s first cargo spacecraft to fly on a SpaceX rocket.
The S.S. Patricia “Patty” Hilliard Robertson on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The is targeted to lift off no earlier than Jan. 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 delivering crew supplies, equipment and scientific experiments with our Cygnus spacecraft,” said Doug Hurley, Northrop Grumman’s director of business development and former NASA astronaut, in a video statement. “Before each mission, we name Cygnus after a trailblazer in the space community.”
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 avid aerobatic pilot with more than 1,500 hours of flight time.
Learn more about Robertson’s story in this article.