NG-24 is a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract. Operated by Northrop Grumman and flying aboard a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket, the mission launched on April 11, 2026, at 11:41 UTC from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40.
The spacecraft is named the S.S. Steven R. Nagel. Following NG-23, the mission is the second to use the Cygnus XL spacecraft configuration, featuring a pressurized cargo module measuring in length, with a payload capacity of and a pressurized cargo volume of .
It is the fourth Cygnus launch on a Falcon 9, arranged after Northrop Grumman's Antares 230+ was retired in 2023 due to supply chain disruptions stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Background
The Cygnus cargo spacecraft was developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation with partial funding from NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. It pairs a pressurized cargo module built by Thales Alenia Space—derived from the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module used on the Space Shuttle—with a service module based on Orbital's GEOStar satellite bus.
The first Standard Cygnus flew in 2013, followed by the larger Enhanced Cygnus in 2015. Orbital Sciences became Orbital ATK in 2015 and was acquired by Northrop Grumman in 2018. Since then, Northrop Grumman has continued CRS operations. NG-24 is the twelfth Cygnus mission under the CRS-2 contract.
Manifest
The Cygnus spacecraft was loaded with a total of of cargo and supplies before its launch.
The cargo manifest is broken down as follows: Crew supplies: Science investigations: Spacewalk equipment: Vehicle hardware: Computer resources:
NASA highlighted several research projects being delivered to the ISS on this mission. These include a new module for the Cold Atom Laboratory, hardware and model organisms for biological research, and a radio receiver for observing the ionosphere.
The mission will include bringing ClimCam (Climate Camera) to the ISS, to be attached to the Bartolomeo platform of the Columbus External Payload Facility. Developed by the Kenya Space Agency, the Egyptian Space Agency, and the Uganda national space program, the ClimCam Payload will be used for climate and weather observation in East Africa.
NG-24 also carried 6 CubeSats developed as part of NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative including; Coconut (ASU), HUCSat (Harvard), LEOPARDSat-1 (Cincinnati), and three satellites for the Pleiades Rapid Orbital Verification Experiment System (PROVES).
Mission
The Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM) was manufactured by Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy, and assembly of the service module for the NG-24 spacecraft took place at Northrop Grumman's facility in Dulles, Virginia. Thales Alenia Space shared that the PCM had left their clean room bound for the Kennedy Space Center on January 30, 2026. The spacecraft was launched on April 11, 2026, at 11:41 UTC.
See also Uncrewed spaceflights to the International Space Station Fluorescent Deep Space Petri-Pod
References
External links Cygnus NG-24 – Northrop Grumman website