NG CYGNUS CARGO SPACECRAFT DEPARTURE FROM ISS, July 15, 2018, Earth orbit, 8:35 am ET

A Cygnus cargo spacecraft will depart from the International Space Station (ISS) on July 15, 2018 at 8:35 am ET.  NASA TV coverage begins at 8:15 am ET.

After departure, the spacecraft will move to another orbit and deploy a series of cubesats.  It then will conduct engineering tests for two weeks before reentering and burning up in the atmosphere on July 30.

When launched on May 21, this was designated OA-9, the ninth Orbital ATK cargo spacecraft launched to ISS.  In the meantime, Orbital ATK was acquired by Northrop Grumman so the spacecraft now has an NG designation.

Orbital ATK named its ISS cargo spacecraft after astronauts and NASA officials who have passed away and have some connection with the company and/or the ISS.  This one is named for J.R. Thompson, a former Director of NASA”s Marshall Space Flight Center and former NASA Deputy Administrator who joined Orbital (before it was Orbital ATK) after leaving the agency.  He served in top management positions at Orbital from 1991-2013.