A fresh wave of scientific research and essential supplies is on its way to the International Space Station as NASA successfully launched its Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply Services 24 (CRS-24) mission.
The mission features Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL spacecraft, carrying around 11,000 pounds of cargo. It lifted off at 7:41 a.m. EDT on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Cygnus XL is scheduled to arrive at the space station on April 13. Live coverage of the arrival begins at 12 p.m. on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and NASA’s YouTube channel. The spacecraft is expected to be captured at 12:50 p.m. using the Canadarm2 robotic arm, operated by NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Chris Williams, before being installed on the Unity module for cargo unloading.
The mission carries dozens of experiments for Expedition 74/75. These include a new quantum science module aimed at improving computing and supporting dark matter research, and hardware designed to produce more therapeutic stem cells for treating blood diseases and cancer. It also includes model organisms to study the gut microbiome and a receiver to improve space weather forecasting, helping protect systems like GPS and radar.
Cygnus XL will remain attached to the station until October. After departure, it will dispose of waste by re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, where it will safely burn up.
The spacecraft has been named the S.S. Steven R. Nagel, honoring Steven R. Nagel, who flew 4 space shuttle missions, led the Gamma Ray Observatory deployment, and logged 723 hours in space.
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