April 11, 2026

The Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft blasting off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to start its NG-24 mission (Image NASA+)

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A few hours ago, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL spacecraft blasted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on its NG-24 or CRS NG-24 mission. After about 15 minutes, it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage and set on its course. This is the 4th resupply mission to the International Space Station with various payloads launched using the Falcon 9 rocket while waiting for the new version of Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket to be ready. It’s also the 2nd to see the use of the new version of the Cygnus cargo spacecraft.

The Orion Integrity spacecraft splashing down (Photo NASA/Bill Ingalls)

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It was afternoon in the USA when NASA’s Orion Integrity spacecraft concluded its Artemis II mission by splashing down off the coast of San Diego. It launched on April 2 atop NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS). Some support ships were in the area to recover Integrity and rescue astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Jeremy Hansen. Everything salvageable was recovered, such as the splashdown system’s parachutes, to gather as much data as possible on the critical phase of the return to Earth.