SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Cygnus XL Cargo Spacecraft | International Space Station
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station on Sunday, September 14, 2025, at 6:11 p.m. ET from Space Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
Watch the launch here: http://spacex.com/launches/ng23
This was the fourth flight of the first stage booster supporting this mission. It previously launched Ax-4, Crew-11, and a Starlink mission. Following stage separation, Falcon 9 landed on Landing Zone 2 (LZ-2) at Cape Canaveral.
Filled with more than 11,000 pounds of scientific investigations, food, supplies, and equipment, Cygnus XL will arrive at the orbiting outpost on Wednesday, Sept. 17. NASA astronaut Jonny Kim will capture the spacecraft using the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm with assistance from NASA astronaut Zena Cardman. After capture, the spacecraft will be installed on the Unity module’s Earth-facing port for cargo unloading.
This mission is the first flight of the Cygnus XL, the larger, more cargo-capable version of the company’s solar-powered spacecraft. Northrop Grumman has named the spacecraft the S.S. William “Willie” C. McCool, in honor of the NASA astronaut that perished in 2003 during the space shuttle Columbia accident.
More than 15 payloads sponsored by the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory are aboard. These projects could help improve medicine production, make the orbit around Earth safer, and enhance technology used in television, computer, and smartphone screens. The research aboard Cygnus aims to reduce harmful microbes, improve medication production, manage fuel pressure, and refine semiconductor crystals for next-generation technologies.
Learn more: https://go.nasa.gov/4m1jktI
Image Credit: SpaceX
Date: Sept. 14, 2025
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