Under the terms of NASA's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract, the Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft is carrying out a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station, or Cygnus NG-22.In order to offer commercial cargo replenishment services to the International Space Station, Northrop Grumman and NASA collaborated to design a new space transportation system. The Cygnus cargo ship is composed of two sections: a pressurized module made by Thales Alenia in France and Italy, and a service module constructed in the USA using the GEOStar platform.