SpaceX launched Northrop Grumman’s new “Cygnus XL” cargo ship on its debut mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday evening (Sept. 14).
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Cygnus freighter lifted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 6:11 p.m. EDT (2211 GMT).
The mission is known as NG-23, because it is the 23rd cargo effort that Northrop Grumman flies to the ISS for NASA.
NG-23 marks the debut of the Cygnus XL, a larger and more capable version of the veteran freighter.
The NG-23 Cygnus will stay attached to the orbiting lab until March 2026, when it will depart to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.
On Sunday night (Sept.), SpaceX launched Northrop Grumman’s brand-new “Cygnus XL” cargo ship towards the ISS for the first time. 14.
At 6:11 p.m., the Cygnus freighter was launched from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. M. GMT/2211 EDT.
Because this is the 23rd cargo mission that Northrop Grumman has flown to the ISS for NASA, the mission is called NG-23. The first Cygnus launch since NG-21’s August 2024 launch is NG-23.
Originally scheduled to launch in January of this year, NG-22 was postponed until June because of avionics problems. NASA then revealed in late March that NG-22 had been canceled due to damage the Cygnus sustained during transportation to the launch location.
The larger and more capable Cygnus XL, a variant of the seasoned freighter, makes its debut on NG-23. Cygnus XL is carrying 11,000 pounds (4,990 kg) of cargo to the ISS, compared to the previous iteration’s 8,500 (3,855 kg) pounds.
The freighter is carrying “materials to produce semiconductor crystals in space and equipment to develop improvements for cryogenic fuel tanks,” according to a statement from NASA officials. In order to stop the growth of microbial communities that develop in water systems and supplies to create pharmaceutical crystals that could cure cancer and other illnesses, the spacecraft will also deliver a specialized UV light system. “.
Cygnus XL of NG-23, which Northrop Grumman dubbed SdotS. One of the NASA astronauts who perished in the 2003 space shuttle Columbia disaster, William “Willie” McCool, is expected to reach the ISS on Wednesday (Sept. 17) at 6:35 a.m. M. GMT 1035, or EDT. Instead of docking on its own, the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm will grab it and grapple with it.
This arrival action will be live-streamed by NASA starting at five in the morning. M. EDT Wednesday, or 0900 GMT.
Up until March 2026, the NG-23 Cygnus will remain affixed to the orbiting laboratory before separating to burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere.
