“And liftoff! Science and supplies soaring to the International Space Station<\/a> aboard the S.S. Steven R. Nagel,” NASA spokesperson Sandra Jones said during live commentary.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n \n A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches into orbit carrying the huge Cygnus XL NG-24 cargo ship for Northrop Grumman from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida to deliver 11,000 pounds of supplies to the International Space Station on April 11, 2026. (Image credit: NASA\/SpaceX)<\/p>\n “This Cygnus spacecraft is named the S.S. Steven R. Nagel in honor of the astronaut who flew four space shuttle<\/a> missions and logged more than 720 hours in space,” Jones added.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>. That capture is scheduled for 12:50 p.m. EDT (1650 GMT), NASA said.<\/p>\n \n NASA\u2019s Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply Services 24 spacecraft is named in honor of NASA astronaut Steven Nagel, who flew on four shuttle missions, commanded two of them and flew for NASA from 1979 to 1995. He died in 2014. (Image credit: NASA)<\/p>\n Nagel, an Air Force test pilot, served as a NASA astronaut<\/a> from 1979 to 1995. His first flight was as a mission specialist; he then flew once as a pilot and twice as a commander. Nagel died in 2014 at the age 67 after a long illness, according to NASA<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nagel’s namesake Cygnus XL 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.<\/p>\n Saturday’s launch was the second flight of the Cygnus XL to date. The first one launched last September,<\/a> also atop a SpaceX<\/a> Falcon 9. It stayed attached to the ISS for six months, departing on March 12<\/a> to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. The mission profile is roughly the same for this second Cygnus XL.<\/p>\n \n A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket first stage booster returns to Earth to land at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida after launching the NG-24 cargo mission for NASA and Northrop Grumman on April 11, 2026. It was the seventh flight for the booster. (Image credit: NASA\/SpaceX)<\/p>\n Saturday’s mission was the seventh flight for the SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage that propelled the cargo ship toward orbit. It returned to Earth about eight minutes after liftoff to make a smooth landing at a SpaceX pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The booster launched Northrop Grumman’s previous cargo flight, NG-23, NASA’s Crew-11 astronaut flight<\/a>, the Axiom Space Ax-4 astronaut flight and three Starlink missions, according to a SpaceX description<\/a>.<\/p>\n Just over 14 minutes after liftoff, the NG-24 Cygnus XL cargo ship separated from the Falcon 9 upper stage to enter its initial orbit. It should deploy its solar arrays about one hour after liftoff to continue its journey to the ISS.<\/p>\n \n The Northrop Grumman Cygnus XL cargo ship S.S. Steven Nagel heads into space after launching into orbit atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on April 11, 2026. (Image credit: NASA\/SpaceX)<\/p>\n 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ApRXE55fctzoWAXhUZmDgG.png\")
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