NASA News · October 6, 2026
NASA to Cover Northrop Grumman CRS-24 Spacecraft Departure
From the source
Editor’s Note: This advisory was updated Oct. 8, 2026, to reflect revised timing for the Cygnus XL spacecraft’s deorbit and information about its departure.
After delivering more than 11,000 pounds of supplies, science experiments, and other cargo to the International Space Station for NASA, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL spacecraft is scheduled to depart Friday, Oct. 9, as part of the company’s Commercial Resupply Services-24 mission, or Northrop Grumman CRS-24.
Watch NASA’s live coverage of departure beginning at 12:30 p.m. EDT through a variety of platforms. Learn where to watch online:
Flight controllers on the ground will send commands for the space station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to detach the Cygnus XL spacecraft from the Unity module’s Earth-facing port and maneuver it into position for release at 12:45 p.m. NASA astronaut Luke Delaney will monitor the operation from aboard the orbital complex.
Loaded with thousands of pounds of disposal items and other unneeded cargo, Cygnus XL will deorbit Monday, Oct. 12, for a destructive re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, where it will safely burn up. NASA will not provide coverage of the spacecraft’s deorbit.
The resupply spacecraft launched on April 11 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Learn more about this NASA commercial resupply mission at:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/nasas-northrop-grumman-crs-24/
Josh Finch / Jimi Russell Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
From NASA News.
