BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – SpaceX on Sunday launched a Northrop Grumman cargo resupply mission from Florida to the International Space Station following a delay on Saturday.
The launch took off at 11:02 a.m. from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and marks Northrop Grumman’s 21st commercial resupply services mission to the space station, according to SpaceX.
Saturday’s launch attempt was called off due to unfavorable weather conditions, which the 45th Weather Squadron predicted would be 50% favorable for launch. In the event of a delay to Sunday, launch weather officers determined that weather conditions would only be 10% favorable due in part to Tropical Storm Debby, yet the Falcon 9 rocket still made its way up through the clouds after weather conditions were said to have improved to 35% favorable.
>Due to unfavorable weather, we are standing down from today's launch of @northropgrumman's NG-21 mission. Next launch opportunity is Sunday, August 4 → https://t.co/bsNx0Xb6I3
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 3, 2024
A Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo spacecraft took the ride aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to deliver more than 8,200 pounds of supplies to the orbiting laboratory, where it will remain hitched for about six months.
Among the cargo are “supplies, hardware, and critical materials to directly support dozens of scientific and research investigations during Expeditions 71 and 72,” such as the study of filtration systems in microgravity, the effect of spaceflight on DNA and “the progression of tissue and development of blood vessels in engineered tissues on the space station,” NASA said in a statement.
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The Cygnus spacecraft will additionally provide operational capability to re-boost the station’s orbit, according to NASA.
Watch the launch again in the video player below or by clicking here.
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