Main Engine Cut Off

The Cygnus spacecraft’s BT-4 main engine, supplied by IHI Aerospace of Japan, fired for 50 seconds Tuesday. The engine produces around 100 pounds of thrust, and the maneuver raised the orbit of the roughly 450-ton space station by 295 feet (90 meters).

Frank DeMauro, vice president and general manager of Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems’ advanced programs division, said the maneuver went according to plan Tuesday.

“It’s been a good day,” DeMauro said in an interview with Spaceflight Now after the reboost test. “Today, all told, seemed to go very well. NASA was happy with the maneuver, and we certainly were (pleased) with the performance of the spacecraft.