Cygnus XL launches cargo

A Northrop Grumman Cygnus XL cargo ship left Florida on April 11 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, headed for the International Space Station with about 11,000 pounds of supplies. (nasa.gov) NASA said the spacecraft lifted off at 7:41 a.m. Eastern time from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on the Commercial Resupply Services 24 mission, also called Northrop Grumman CRS-24. SpaceX said the Falcon 9 first-stage booster was making its seventh flight and landed back at Landing Zone 40 after separation. (nasa.gov) (spacex.com) Cygnus is an uncrewed freighter for station logistics, the orbital version of a delivery truck, and this flight is scheduled to reach the station on April 13. NASA said astronauts Jack Hathaway and Chris Williams are set to use the Canadarm2 robotic arm to capture the spacecraft at 12:50 p.m. Eastern time before it is berthed to the Unity module for unloading. (nasa.gov) The shipment is carrying research hardware as well as food and crew gear. NASA said the science includes a new Cold Atom Lab module for quantum experiments, stem-cell production hardware for blood diseases and cancer research, gut microbiome studies, and a receiver meant to improve space-weather models used to protect systems such as Global Positioning System satellites and radar. (nasa.gov) This was the second flight of Northrop Grumman’s larger Cygnus XL design, which the company said offers 33 percent more cargo capacity than the previous version. Northrop Grumman said Cygnus has delivered more than 158,000 pounds of cargo to the station since its first flight in 2013. (northropgrumman.com) (publicnow.com) The mission also shows how mixed the station’s supply chain has become. SpaceNews noted that Northrop Grumman is still using SpaceX rockets for Cygnus flights while it works toward bringing its Antares 330 launch vehicle online, after earlier Antares changes disrupted its launch plans. (spacenews.com) Northrop Grumman named this spacecraft the S.S. Steven R. Nagel after the late NASA astronaut, who flew four space shuttle missions and logged more than 723 hours in space. NASA said Cygnus is expected to stay attached to the station until October, then depart loaded with trash and burn up during reentry. (nasa.gov 1) (nasa.gov 2)