NASA Sets Coverage for Northrop Grumman’s CRS-24 Resupply Launch for No Earlier Than April 8

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BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – NASA, Northrop Grumman, and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 8:49 a.m. on Wednesday, April 8, for the next launch delivering science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station.

Filled with approximately 11,000 pounds of cargo, the Northrop Grumman Cygnus XL spacecraft, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The mission is known as NASA’s Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply Services 24, or Northrop Grumman CRS-24.

Watch coverage on Space Coast Daily TV

Following launch, astronauts aboard the space station will use the Canadarm2 robotic arm to capture the Cygnus XL on Friday, April 10, before ground controllers install it to the Unity module’s Earth-facing port for cargo unloading.

Highlights of space station research and technology demonstrations being delivered aboard this Cygnus XL spacecraft include:

• A new module for the Cold Atom Lab to advance quantum science that could improve computing technology and aid in the search for dark matter

• Hardware to produce a greater number of therapeutic stem cells for blood diseases and cancer

• Model organisms to study the gut microbiome

• A receiver that could enhance space weather models that protect critical space infrastructure such as GPS and radar

The spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the orbiting laboratory until October before departing with several thousand pounds of trash and burning up harmlessly during re-entry.

Northrop Grumman named the spacecraft the S.S. Steven R. Nagel in honor of the former NASA astronaut who flew four space shuttle missions, logging more than 720 hours in space.

NASA’s mission coverage is as follows (all times subject to change based on real-time operations):

Wednesday, April 8

• 8:30 a.m.: Launch coverage begins on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and YouTube.

• 8:49 a.m.: Launch

Friday, April 10

• 12:30 a.m.: Arrival coverage begins on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and YouTube.

• 1:10 a.m.: Capture

Attend Launch Virtually

Members of the public can register to attend this launch virtually. NASA’s virtual guest program for this mission also includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities or changes, and a stamp for the NASA virtual guest passport following launch.

Learn More About the Mission

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