Damaged During Delivery: What Happened to the Newest Cygnus Spacecraft?
A spacecraft designed to deliver supplies to astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) was recently damaged—before it even made it to the launch pad.
The spacecraft, called Cygnus, was supposed to fly on a mission known as NG-22, managed by aerospace company Northrop Grumman. Cygnus is used to carry food, equipment, and experiments to astronauts living in space. But the mission, originally scheduled for June 2025, has now been canceled.
The part of the spacecraft that holds cargo—called the Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM)—was built by Thales Alenia Space, a company based in Europe. After it was finished, the module was shipped to Northrop Grumman in the United States for final assembly.
However, during that shipment, something went seriously wrong. According to reports, heavy equipment struck the container holding the spacecraft module, damaging it. The exact details of the accident haven’t been shared, and the company responsible for shipping it hasn’t been named publicly.
Besides carrying supplies, Cygnus has also been used to boost the ISS’s orbit. Over time, the space station slowly loses altitude due to Earth's gravity and the thin atmosphere at its altitude. Boosting helps keep the ISS in the correct orbit.
But there's no need to worry—Cygnus isn’t the only spacecraft that can do this. Russia’s Progress spacecraft also performs these reboosts, and NASA can work with other partners to keep the station in its proper orbit. So even though NG-22 won’t be flying, the ISS will stay safe and in position.
NASA and Northrop Grumman are now checking to see if the damaged module can be fixed and used on a future mission. In the meantime, NASA is working with SpaceX, another space company, to send extra supplies to the ISS on a different cargo flight in April. This will help make sure the astronauts have everything they need.
Getting supplies to the ISS is a big part of keeping astronauts safe and science projects running smoothly in space. Every cargo mission has to be carefully planned, and delays or accidents like this one can cause major changes to the schedule.
This incident also shows how complicated space missions can be—not just in space, but here on Earth. Even transporting a spacecraft from one company to another comes with risks!