Derrick Henry
SpaceX has launched Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft using the Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Sent to space on Sunday, the NG-21 mission will deliver 8,200 pounds of equipment, science experiments and supplies to the International Space Station under a NASA service contract, Northrop said.
According to Ryan Tintner, vice president of civil space systems at Northrop Grumman, the mission underscores the organization’s longstanding support for NASA and the space station.
“Northrop Grumman is providing logistics technology that delivers differentiating capabilities – sustaining life and science research aboard the space station,” Tintner noted.
In a statement, NASA said astronaut Matthew Dominick will capture Cygnus using the ISS’ robotic arm.
The resupply mission will support ongoing research experiments such as evaluating liquid and gas flow through porous media in the space station’s life support systems and demonstrating the production of high-quality blood and immune stem cells, the space agency added.
Northrop has so far deployed six resupply services for NASA since 2023.
