The first cynus XL vehicle of Northrop Grumman was converted into the International Space Station after the pre-sanset launch from Cape Canawral on Sunday evening.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket strangled Pad at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC -40) at 6:11 pm EDT (2211). About 8 minutes after the launch, the booster shook the space coast with a sonic boom as it touched the Cape Canveral Space Force Station in Landing Zone 2.
This was just the fourth flight for this booster with tail number B1094. It first launched a batch of Starlink satellites with two astronaut missions of ISS: Axiom Mission 4 and NASA.
This was one of the last landing on this site as Spacex creates a new landing pad adjacent to its launch pad on SLC-40. The company hopes that this new site will be operational by the beginning of 2026.
Over 14 minutes in the flight, the Scientific XL spacecraft was released from the upper stage of the Falcon 9 rocket and began a journey of over two days for the space station. NASA confirmed that about one and a half hours after the launch, both, circular ultraflex solar ares were successfully deployed.
The cargo vehicle is to be berth for ISS by NASA astronaut Johnny Kim on Wednesday 17 September. The cynus XL is expected to capture the EDT (1035 UTC) of the ISS by the robotic arm at around 6:35 pm and the EDT (1200 UTC) will start at around 8 am.
“Our team has worked hand in hand with Northrop Gramman, to assess how their spacecraft changes affect the ISS in our operation.” “For example, in the ISS side, we had to consider thermal and life support effects from being a large vehicle berth for ISS and we had to assess the effects on Canadian robotic arm operations.”
Cyneus XL has about 33 percent higher volume for cargo compared to the anterior signus vehicle. Ryan Tinter, vice -president of Civil Space Systems at Northrop Gramman, said the new spacecraft is about the size of two Apollo command modules.
Signus XL confirmed the separation. Expected to come to the spacecraft @space Station Wednesday, September 17 at 6:35 am to capture ~ 60 hours pic.twitter.com/hnp6aqjrk3
– SpaceX (@Spacex) September 14, 2025
The Mission, called NG -23, is the 22nd flight for a cytopical spacecraft as part of the Commercial Revolution Service 2, managed by Northrop Gramman.
“To date, we have given more than 71,000 kg supply and beyond science and space station,” Tinter said. “Now, as a commercial contractor, we always participate with NASA and our customers, to understand what new capabilities are required within what we are offering.”
Keeping in mind the tradition, Northrop Gramman named the spacecraft after the astronaut, which left and influential heritage. SS William “Willie” c. McCool was dubbed in honor of the Pilot Space Shuttle Colombia of the sick STS -107 mission.
The cynus XL spacecraft was launched and supplied on the ship with more than 11,000 pounds (4,990 kg) of Science. Once connected to the ISS, it is going to stay in class to the late deadline.
NASA is planning to temporarily unleash the vehicle in November to clear a way for the arrival of a crew’s Soyuz spacecraft on the MS-28 mission. Contella said that if teams determine that they are unable to recreate cysts, it will be filled with garbage and released in November.
“(Japan) HTV-X is berth during this time and will also provide significant waste removal,” said. “So, the un-Barthing cynus will not be a major problem first.”
New science onboard
NASA’s ISS Program Research Office Associate Chief Scientist Dr. According to Liz Warren, thousands of pounds in the Signus XL spacecraft have the supply of the Scientific XL spacecraft, which will support more than 50 different scientific studies and research features.
One of them is a follow -up experiment on how to manage a zero boil situation for proponent storage tanks in low earth orbit. It is called Zero abscess-off tank NoncondensBelles (ZBOT-NC) and is managed by Western Reserve University and NASA Glenn Research University.
“The data of this probe will be used to validate a status of art, a two-step computational fluid dynamics model for long-term storage of cryogenic fluids in space, which, in turn, can be used to inform the current engineering design,” Warren said.
Case Western Reserve University chief investigator Dr. Mohammad Kasami said that this work would be implemented by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate to help both Blue Origin and SpaceX to help with his plans for on-orbit propellent transfer. This is an important part of their proposals to return humans on the moon through a piece of human landing system of the Artemis program.
“We are valued these models from a small tank to a large tank, from a small tank to a large tank at gravitational levels, in fluid types, and crossing the spatial dimensions, from a small tank to a large tank.” Which allows us to do so that the model is to be valid for models and microgravity data that allows us to achieve, especially talk with the American industry. ,
Bristol Myers Squib will also use a crystal growth using the pharmaceutical in-space laboratory of the Redwire Space. This is called pharmaceutical in-space laboratory 11.
,[It] To continue the growing crystal of pharmaceuticals on ISS, the microgravity changes their structure, “Warren said.” In this phase of work, researchers are searching products with potential applications in heart, immunological, cancer and neurodynative diseases.
“On Earth, mixed-crystal products experience slow crystal formation, poor crystal size, deformation. Researchers hope that the position of microgravity will enable large, more similar crystals, which were seen in many other crystallization experiments on ISS.”
Warren said that the researchers are expecting some of these crystals to be brought back to Earth to make large batches of them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vttnk2uuy_w
Future
The launch of the NG -23 mission came months ago, which was originally determined. The cynus spacecraft for the NG -22 mission was damaged during transportation at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and was considered unable to fly during its original slot in 2025.
On ISS, NASA and its partners agreed to transfer SPX -32, SPX -33 and NG -23 missions to shut down the launch schedule and compensate issues.
“Accurate details on NG -22 configuration, we are still working through it, but NG -22 will fly,” Tinter said. “NG -22 mission will appear and again, we are working with NASA to determine this, because we complete the way forward, what will really be the time.”
Due to the schedule reshuffle, the NG -23 flight was the last of the three declared missions, with a spacex Falcon 9 rocket to carry a cysnus spacecraft. However, before the launch, Tinter stated that NG-24 would also fly on a Falcon 9 rocket in 2026.
“I have to go back and look properly, but we are all sets and for a while now to make sure that we were able to launch on time to NASA through Falcon 9,” when asked about the time of this extended contract during a prelonch briefing, Tinter said.
Northrop Gramman is working on a new medium-ranked launch vehicle called Antarasis 330 in partnership with Jugnu Aerospace. Antares retired in 230+ August 2023 as a result of the use of Russian-made RD-181 engines. The US Congress ended the dependence on Russian rocket engines as a result of Russia’s 2014 Crimea invasion.
“We are making a lot of progress on Antares 330 and it’s being used at some point and getting ready to go in 2026,” Tinter said.
