SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Friday, April 10, at 8:03 a.m. The mission will send a Northrop Grumman Cygnus XL spacecraft loaded with 11,000 pounds of supplies and science experiments to the International Space Station. The launch was postponed from its original date due to weather conditions but remains on track for Friday. A backup opportunity is available at 7:41 a.m. Saturday, April 11, if needed.
The mission, officially named NASA’s Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply Services 24 (NG-24 or CRS-24), is part of a contract between NASA, SpaceX, and Northrop Grumman. The Cygnus XL spacecraft is named after NASA astronaut Steven R. Nagel, who flew four shuttle missions and logged over 720 hours in space. The spacecraft will deliver food, water, and scientific equipment to astronauts currently aboard the ISS.
The Falcon 9’s first stage will attempt a landing at Landing Zone 40, a new site near the launch complex. This will be the second time SpaceX uses this location, moving operations from older landing zones further south. The booster’s return may produce a sonic boom audible to residents in Brevard County.
The launch window is narrow because the mission must align with the ISS’s orbit. SpaceX has previously launched Cygnus spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, but this mission marks the first use of Landing Zone 40 for a Falcon 9 landing. The flight comes as NASA’s Artemis II crew returns from the Moon, highlighting continued activity at the Space Coast’s launch sites.