Watch SpaceX launch big 'Cygnus XL' cargo spacecraft toward the ISS today

5 days ago 16

NASA’s Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply Services 24 Launch - YouTube

SpaceX will launch a big cargo ship to orbit on this morning (April 11), and you can watch the action live.

You can watch it live via NASA, starting at 7:20 a.m. EDT (1120 GMT). Space.com will carry the agency's feed if, as expected, it's made available.

The robotic Cygnus XL will arrive at the ISS on Monday (April 13), when it will be grappled by the orbiting lab's Canadarm2 robotic arm.

The freighter will deliver about 11,000 pounds (4,990 kilograms) of science equipment and supplies to the astronauts aboard the station. That load-carrying capacity explains Cygnus XL's name: The original version of the freighter, which flew more than 20 missions to the ISS, maxed out at about 8,500 pounds (3,856 kg) of payload.

Saturday's launch will be the second flight of the Cygnus XL to date. The first one launched last September, also atop a SpaceX Falcon 9. It stayed attached to the ISS for six months, departing on March 12 to burn up in Earth's atmosphere. The mission profile is roughly the same for this second Cygnus XL.

closeup of a cylindrical cargo spacecraft attached to the space station, with earth in the background

The Northrop Grumman vehicle is one of four robotic cargo spacecraft that service the ISS, along with Japan's HTV-X, Russia's Progress and SpaceX's Dragon.

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

Dragon is the only one of these freighters that's reusable. The other three will die fiery deaths in Earth's atmosphere when their time in orbit is up.

Michael Wall is the Spaceflight and Tech Editor for Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers human and robotic spaceflight, military space, and exoplanets, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

*** Disclaimer: This Article is auto-aggregated by a Rss Api Program and has not been created or edited by Bdtype.

(Note: This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News Rss Api. News.bdtype.com Staff may not have modified or edited the content body.

Please visit the Source Website that deserves the credit and responsibility for creating this content.)

Watch Live | Source Article