NASA is sending more science, technology demonstrations, and crew supplies to the International Space Station following the successful launch of the agency’s Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply Services 24 mission, or Northrop Grumman CRS-24.
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL spacecraft, carrying approximately 11,000 pounds of cargo to the orbiting laboratory, lifted off at 7:41 a.m. EDT Saturday on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Watch live coverage of the spacecraft’s arrival to the space station beginning at 12 p.m. on Monday, April 13, on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of online platforms, including social media.
Cygnus XL is scheduled to be captured at 12:50 p.m. by the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm, operated by NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Chris Williams. After capture, the spacecraft will be installed on the Unity module’s Earth-facing port for cargo unloading.
NASA’s arrival and capture coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):
– Monday, April 13 – 12 p.m. – Arrival coverage begins on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel. – 12:50 p.m. – Capture of Cygnus XL with the space station’s robotic arm.
The resupply mission is carrying dozens of research experiments that will be conducted during Expedition 74/75. These include a new module to advance quantum science, hardware to produce therapeutic stem cells, model organisms to study the gut microbiome, and a receiver to enhance space weather models.
Cygnus XL is scheduled to remain at the orbiting laboratory until October before disposing of thousands of pounds of trash through re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.
Northrop Grumman named the spacecraft the S.S. Steven R. Nagel in honor of the former NASA astronaut who flew four space shuttle missions.
Learn more about this NASA commercial resupply mission at: https://www.nasa.gov/mission/nasas-northrop-grumman-crs-24/
Josh Finch Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov
Amanda Griffin Kennedy Space Center, Fla. 321-876-2468 amanda.a.griffin@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
