A new cargo spacecraft is set to deliver more than 11,000 pounds of supplies and science equipment to the International Space Station. The spacecraft built by Northrop Grumman is called Cygnus XL and can carry 33% more cargo than its previous version.
The spacecraft is hitching a ride to orbit on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, launching from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Sunday at 6:11 p.m. ET. The launch can be watched live here.
This marks Northrop Grumman’s 23rd resupply mission to the orbiting lab. NASA pays commercial companies Northrop Grumman and SpaceX to ship supplies to the station.
\NASA’s Liz Warren, associate chief scientists for the International Space Station program research office, said because the vehicle can carry more cargo, it allows for more science and research on the ISS, including an experiment that could help treat some diseases, like cancer.
Warren said that experiment “grows crystals of pharmaceuticals that target cancers and other diseases to see whether microgravity alters their structure, which can affect the production, storage, effectiveness and administration of those medications.”
Some of the other cargo on this mission includes equipment to “refine semiconductor crystals for next-generation technologies, reduce harmful microbes, improve medication production, and manage fuel pressure,” NASA said.
Once it arrives at the station on Sept 17, Cygnus XL will stay connected to the station until March, before it de-orbits and burns up in the atmosphere.
Warren said later this year the ISS, NASA and partners will celebrate “25 years of continuous human presence and microgravity research on board the International Space Station.”
Northrop Grumman named the spacecraft in honor of NASA astronaut William C. McCool, who piloted the Space Shuttle during the Columbia disaster in 2003.
Since 2014, Northrop Grumman has delivered 148,000 pounds of supplies to the ISS.
