Photo: Spaceflight

Spaceflight will provide mission management and rideshare integration services on an upcoming launch from the International Space Station (ISS) and Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus launch vehicle. Spaceflight bought the capacity through an arrangement with Hypergiant SEOPS for a variety of customer spacecraft,.

In a unique arrangement, the spacecraft will be arriving at the ISS through an ISS Cargo Resupply Mission aboard via a SpaceX Falcon 9 Dragon capsule from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in late July. Spaceflight has named the mission SEOPS-1, but it is also referred to as ISS SpX18/NG11, representing the launch vehicles meeting at the ISS (a SpaceX Falcon 9 Dragon and a Northop Grumman Antares Cygnus).

“We are always looking for creative and innovative ways to get our customers’ spacecraft in orbit, and our partnership with Hypergiant SEOPS helps us deliver on this promise,” said Curt Blake, CEO of Spaceflight. “The rideshare campaign is a low schedule risk option because of the regular cadence of ISS Cargo Resupply Missions and the maturity of the Dragon/Falcon 9 and Cygnus/Antares launch systems. We’re looking forward to commissioning more of these types of missions in the future.”