PARIS — A Falcon 9 launched an upgraded version of a Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station Sept. 14.
The Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 6:11 p.m. Eastern. The NG-23 Cygnus spacecraft separated from the upper stage about 14 and a half minutes later. The spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at the station early Sept. 17.
NG-23 is the first flight of a larger version of Cygnus, known as Cygnus XL. Its cargo module is 1.6 meters longer than the previous version, increasing its payload capacity by about a third to 5,000 kilograms. NASA did not provide the specific amount of cargo on the Cygnus, or how that was allocated among science, crew supplies and station equipment, before launch.
The increased size of Cygnus XL required some analysis by NASA to identify its effect on station systems such as life support and thermal control, said Dina Contella, NASA ISS deputy program manager, at a Sept. 12 briefing. The agency also assessed changes to operations by the Canadarm2 robotic arm, which grapples the Cygnus and berths it to the station.
Cygnus is scheduled to remain at the station until next spring. However, NASA plans to temporarily unberth Cygnus in November, when the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft is scheduled to dock at an adjacent port, to avoid potential interference with the Soyuz and its approach corridor.
“Just to be on the safe side, we’re trying to keep the neighboring port free,” Contella said. The robotic arm will unberth Cygnus and move it to another side of the station during the docking before reberthing it. If that set of maneuvers is not possible, she said Cygnus would be unberthed and depart before the Soyuz arrival.
The NG-23 mission was the first Cygnus flight since NG-21 in August 2024. Damage to the pressurized cargo module during shipment to Cape Canaveral forced NASA and Northrop Grumman in March to indefinitely delay the NG-22 Cygnus mission that was scheduled to launch earlier this year.
“It was a very unfortunate situation,” said Ryan Tintner, vice president of civil space systems at Northrop Grumman. He said the module was damaged at sea during shipment. He did not discuss the extent of the damage or how it will be repaired, saying it “is still in work here” with the supplier. The module is made by Thales Alenia Space in Italy.
However, Northrop still plans to fly that spacecraft. “NG-22 will fly,” he said. “We’re working with NASA to determine, as we complete the path forward there, exactly what the timing will be.”
This was the third Cygnus mission to launch on a Falcon 9, after NG-20 in January 2024 and NG-21 in August 2024. Northrop had used its own Antares rocket for most previous Cygnus missions — three launched on Atlas 5 rockets after the failure of an Antares rocket in 2014 — but the company retired the existing version of Antares after a final launch in 2023 because of its use of a Ukrainian-built first stage with Russian engines.
Northrop announced in August 2022 a partnership with Firefly Aerospace to develop a new version of Antares, called Antares 330, with a new Firefly-produced first stage. As a stopgap, Northrop said it would acquire three Falcon 9 launches for Cygnus missions.
“We’re making great progress on the Antares 330 and that’s getting queued up to be used at some point, be ready to go, in 2026,” Tintner said at the prelaunch briefing, but noted NG-24 will launch on a fourth Falcon 9 next year. “Beyond that, we’re working with NASA to manifest appropriately.”
