NASA has been forced to delay the arrival of the new Cygnus XL at the International Space Station (ISS) due to an issue with the spacecraft’s main engine.
Built by Northrop Grumman, the uncrewed spacecraft, which is on its maiden flight, left Cape Canaveral in Florida on Sunday carrying 11,000 pounds (about 5,000 kg) of supplies for the space station and its crew.
The Cygnus XL vehicle was due to arrive at the orbital outpost on Wednesday in the CRS-23 mission, but NASA said on Tuesday that it’s now reviewing the situation and will share a new arrival date later.
“NASA and Northrop Grumman are delaying the arrival of the Cygnus XL to the International Space Station as flight controllers evaluate an alternate burn plan for the resupply spacecraft,” the U.S. space agency said in a post on its website.
NASA said that Cygnus XL’s main engine “stopped earlier than planned during two burns designed to raise the orbit of the spacecraft for rendezvous with the space station,” adding that “all other Cygnus XL systems are performing normally.”
It’s hard to say how serious the situation is for the Cygnus XL spacecraft, but hopefully NASA’s next update will include details of an effective solution, together with a new arrival time.
Should the Cygnus XL be able to proceed toward the ISS, NASA astronaut and current ISS inhabitant Jonny Kim will capture the vehicle using the space station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm before guiding it to the Unity module’s Earth-facing port where it will remain at the space station until March 2026.
The new Cygnus XL spacecraft has replaced the Enhanced version of the Cygnus, which first flew in 2015.
The Cygnus XL can carry up to 11,000 pounds (about 5,000 kg) of supplies, marking a 33% increase over the last Cygnus design, which could hold up to 8,500 pounds (about 3,855 kg) of supplies.
