Paihau—Robinson Space Blog

The Northrop-Grumman 23 cargo resupply vechicle carrying Hēki has docked at the ISS. The hatch will be opened later today after the crew checks the seal between Cygnus and ISS for leaks. NG-23’s cargo (including Hēki) will be unloaded and stowed on board over the next several days.

The next planned activities for Hēki are planned start no earlier than 25 September (timeline to be determined):

• unpacking from its shipping container for installation on the NanoRacks External Platform (NREP) structure.
• installation of NREP (with Hēki) on a dedicated port external to the ISS by the Japanese Experiment Module robotic arm.
• Power on and check out Hēki to prepare for operations

The location of NG-23 on the ISS is illustrated in this post on the International Space Station blog.

Image: NG-23 Cygnus  S. S. William “Willie” McCool  seen on approach to the ISS. Credit: NASA

Image: CanadaArm2 guides NG-23 to ISS’ Unity Module nadir docking port