Northrop Grumman's Cygnus cargo freighter, the NG-22, is being delayed indefinitely after engineers confirmed the Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM) had sustained damage in its shipping container.
The damage was caused by heavy equipment striking the container during shipment. Northrop Grumman notified NASA of the issue earlier in March. When the container was opened and the module within inspected, engineers confirmed it had not survived the trip unscathed.
According to a spokesperson from the US space agency: "NASA and Northrop Grumman are adjusting planning for the company's next commercial resupply launch to the International Space Station. Northrop Grumman's Commercial Resupply Services-23 now will be the company's next flight to the International Space Station for NASA, targeted to launch no earlier than fall 2025."
All of this means that SpaceX's next resupply flight in April is increasingly critical. The International Space Station (ISS) is running low on consumables, and Elon Musk's rocketeers are now the only option for launching supplies from US soil in the short term.
"NASA previously announced plans to adjust the cargo manifest on the agency's next resupply mission on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft in April and add more consumable supplies and food to help ensure sufficient reserves of supplies aboard the station," the spokesperson added.
_The Register_ asked NASA what the contingency plans were should the next resupply flight not reach the orbiting laboratory, but the agency did not respond.
A source from another space agency told us that the PCM would be sent back to Italy, where it could then be repaired and possibly used on a future mission, depending on the extent of the damage.
The Cygnus is a two-part spacecraft comprising a Service Module (SM) based on an existing satellite bus and a Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM) manufactured by Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy. [According](https://cdn.northropgrumman.com/-/media/wp-content/uploads/DS-57a-Cygnus.pdf?v=1.0.0) \[PDF\] to Northrop Grumman, the freighter can carry up to 3,750 kg of cargo and has a pressurized volume of 27 m³. The unexpected loss of the mission has, therefore, caused headaches for planners and researchers as science payloads have had to be removed from the upcoming SpaceX mission in favor of consumables.
Our source also mused about the trash situation onboard the ISS, remarking that Cygnus, which is expendable, serves as a receptacle for garbage while attached to the outpost. Upon departure, the vehicle is usually full of waste for disposal.
While Earthlings might get antsy if the garbage truck is a week late, the inhabitants of the ISS could be faced with a wait of half a year or more until the next Cygnus arrives. ®