NASA's latest cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS) has encountered problems on its way to the orbiting outpost.

Northrop Grumman's Cygnus launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 1502 UTC on August 4. It was the second of three Falcon 9 launches booked by Northrop Grumman while a new engine is developed for its Antares rocket.

The Falcon 9 first stage landed successfully, and the uncrewed Cygnus freighter, named for Francis R "Dick" Scobee, a NASA astronaut who perished in the Challenger accident, was inserted into orbit.

However, things then began to go a little awry. According to NASA, the spacecraft missed its first burn, the "Targeted Altitude Burn" or TB1, "due to a late entry to burn sequencing." The burn was rescheduled for 50 minutes later "but aborted the maneuver shortly after the engine ignited due to a slightly low initial pressure state."

NASA said in its statement on the matter that: "There is no indication the engine itself has any problem at this time." This suggests that the issue might lie in some sensors or somewhere within the software responsible for controlling the burns.

The mission, which is to deliver 8,200 pounds (3.7 metric tons) of crew supplies, equipment, and science experiments to the orbiting laboratory, had already been delayed from August 3 due to weather concerns. The spacecraft is currently at a safe altitude with its solar arrays deployed.

The original plan called for the spacecraft to be captured by ISS astronauts and installed on the Unity module's Earth-facing port on Tuesday, August 6. However, that hinges on Northrop Grumman's engineers coming up with a new burn and trajectory plan.

The freighter is carrying some extras for the Starliner crew, currently having an extended stay on board the ISS while engineers continue to evaluate the performance of Boeing's spacecraft. This includes clothing removed from the Starliner in favor of ISS spare parts.

It does not, however, include suits that might be worn by the Starliner crew on a Crew Dragon return mission. ®

https://www.theregister.com//2024/08/05/freighter_bound_for_iss_engine_abort/