A SpaceX team launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida’s Space Coast on Saturday, marking the return to space since the failure of a mission on July 11.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A Northrop Grumman spacecraft is scheduled to launch from Florida on Saturday, sending supplies, groceries and science to the astronauts living on the International Space Station.
The Cygnus spacecraft, packed with nearly 8,200 pounds of cargo, will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 11:29 a.m. ET from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
This will be Northrop Grumman’s second ISS resupply mission for NASA this year and the second to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The Cygnus cargo supply vehicle was previously launched on Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket, but due to the ongoing Russian invasion in Ukraine, the company has been unable to source its Ukrainian and Russian hardware for the vehicle.
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft is attached to the Canadarm2 robotic arm about to be released into Earth orbit ending a five-and-a-half month cargo mission berthed to the International Space Station’s Unity module.
(NASA)
Northrop announced in 2023 that it is working with Firefly Aerospace to create a new version of the Antares rocket using American-made engines and other hardware.
Some of the science on this mission includes biomedical research studying liver tissue and two university-designed CubeSats that will deploy from the ISS from Iowa and Arizona.
Launch forecast: 50% go
The launch weather could make it problematic for SpaceX to get the Falcon 9 off the launchpad. Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center continue to monitor a tropical disturbance in the Atlantic that could potentially affect Florida.
“For the weekend weather, all eyes will remain on the tropical wave near the Greater Antilles as it shifts into the Florida Straits and Gulf of Mexico, possibly developing into a tropical depression or named storm,” Space Force Launch weather officers said. “There is a higher-than-normal degree of uncertainty for this two-day forecast, but models are coming into alignment that the Florida Peninsula will likely be on the eastern side of the low this weekend.”
With the possibility of tropical cyclone development appearing more likely on the Gulf side of Florida, anyone living along the eastern Gulf may have had their ears perk up Thursday morning after the latest forecast discussion from the National Weather Service in Tallahassee. Senior Service Hydrologist/Meteorologist Kelly Godsey with NWS Tallahassee joins FOX Weather with more on the model guidance trending westward.
Launch weather officers with the Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron are forecasting a 50% chance of favorable weather for Saturday’s liftoff. The primary concerns are lightning and cloud cover.
Daily sea breeze-driven thunderstorms and showers across Florida are likely, regardless of any tropical development.
Another launch opportunity is available on Sunday, but the forecast drops to a 40% chance of favorable weather.
If the launch happens Saturday, the supplies should arrive at the ISS on Monday. NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick will use the station’s robotic arm to capture Cygnus, with NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps as backup.
Cygnus will remain at the ISS until early next year before it departs with trash from the station and burns up in Earth’s atmosphere.