On Sunday evening, SpaceX launched the latest cargo ship in a series of missions to the International Space Station from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
The Northrop Grumman NG-23 Cygnus XL spacecraft launched at 6:11 p.m. ET into low Earth orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, delivering cargo and experimental equipment to the International Space Station.
A NASA statement said the mission, carrying 11,000 pounds of cargo, is carrying “materials for in-space semiconductor crystal manufacturing and equipment to develop improvements for cryogenic fuel tanks.”
“The spacecraft will also deliver a specialized ultraviolet lighting system to prevent the growth of microbial communities that form in water systems and are used to produce pharmaceutical crystals that can treat cancer and other diseases,” the statement continued.
The Cygnus spacecraft, which also carried food and other essential supplies for the ISS crew, is scheduled to arrive at the ISS on Wednesday, where it will remain attached until March 2026.
It will then separate and begin its descent, eventually burning up upon entering Earth's atmosphere along with the debris it will be carrying from the ISS astronauts.
The ship will join the Russian Progress cargo ship, also expendable, which arrived at the ISS on Saturday.
Eight minutes after launch, the first stage of the booster rocket that was fueling the Cygnus mission landed safely at Cape Canaveral Space Station, causing a sonic boom that shook Brevard County.
NASA named Cygnus NG-23 SS William “Willie” McCool in honor of one of the astronauts killed in the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
Sourse: www.upi.com
