Northrop Grumman's Cygnus XL Cargo Spacecraft Departs International Space Station Today
- Published
- Source
- SPACE.com
Today, October 9, Northrop Grumman's uncrewed Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft, named S.S. Steven R. Nagel, will depart the International Space Station (ISS) after a six-month mission. The spacecraft is scheduled to be released by the ISS's Canadarm2 robotic arm at 12:45 p.m. EDT, with live coverage starting at 12:30 p.m. EDT.
This departure marks the second flight of the Cygnus XL line and the 24th Cygnus spacecraft to deliver cargo to the ISS. The S.S. Steven R. Nagel launched on April 11, carrying 11,000 pounds of supplies and science gear. It will return to Earth with thousands of pounds of trash, which will burn up upon reentry on October 11.
As the Cygnus XL does not dock autonomously, the Canadarm2 will grapple and maneuver it for release. NASA astronaut Luke Delaney will oversee the operation from the ISS. No further timeline was disclosed at the time of publication.
Original report
Watch private Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft leave the International Space Station today
SPACE.com · Mike WallThis briefing is an independently written summary based on publicly available reporting and is provided for industry information and news discovery. The original report and source publication are credited and linked where applicable. RobotToday does not claim ownership of third-party source material.
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