Falcon 9 Lifts Off with Over 5 Tons of Cargo

At 7:41 a.m. EDT on April 11, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, carrying Northrop Grumman's Cygnus XL cargo freighter toward the International Space Station (ISS). Designated NG-24, the mission marks Northrop Grumman's 24th resupply flight to the ISS on behalf of NASA.

The spacecraft has been named the S.S. Steven R. Nagel, honoring the late astronaut who completed four Space Shuttle missions and logged over 720 hours in space during his NASA career from 1979 to 1995. A former Air Force test pilot, Nagel passed away in 2014 at the age of 67.

Five Tons of Supplies for Station Crew

The Cygnus XL is delivering approximately 11,000 pounds (4,990 kg) of science equipment and crew supplies. The 'XL' designation reflects a meaningful upgrade: while the standard Cygnus maxed out at roughly 8,500 pounds (3,856 kg), the XL variant can carry about 30% more cargo — a response to the growing logistical demands of long-duration ISS operations.

Second Cygnus XL Flight, Same Mission Profile

This is the second flight of the Cygnus XL variant. The first launched in September last year, remained attached to the ISS for six months, and was released on March 12 to burn up in Earth's atmosphere. NG-24 will follow the same mission profile.

After a two-day orbital approach, the Cygnus XL is scheduled to arrive at the ISS on Monday, April 13 at 12:50 p.m. EDT, where it will be grappled by the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm.

Booster Nails Seventh Landing

The Falcon 9 first stage used in this mission had already flown six times, supporting missions including NG-23, NASA's Crew-11, Axiom Space's Ax-4, and three Starlink flights. The booster returned to a Cape Canaveral landing pad approximately eight minutes after liftoff. About 14 minutes after launch, the Cygnus XL separated from the upper stage and deployed its solar arrays roughly one hour later to begin its journey to the ISS.

The ISS is currently serviced by four robotic cargo spacecraft: Cygnus, Japan's HTV-X, Russia's Progress, and SpaceX's Dragon.