Cygnus NG-23
NG-23 is a planned cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract. Operated by Northrop Grumman, the flight is scheduled for launch on September 14, 2025, aboard a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket.[1] The spacecraft is named S.S. William "Willie" C. McCool in honor of the NASA astronaut who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003.[2] The mission will debut the Cygnus XL spacecraft configuration, featuring a pressurized cargo module measuring 7.89 meters (25.9 ft) in length, with a payload capacity of 5,000 kilograms (11,000 lb), an increase of 19.5%, and a pressurized cargo volume of 36 cubic metres (1,300 cu ft), an increase of 15.5%.[3][4] It will be the third 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. A successor, the Antares 300, is under development with no Russian or Ukrainian components.[1] BackgroundThe 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-23 is the eleventh Cygnus mission under the CRS-2 contract.[5] MissionAssembly of the NG-23 spacecraft took place in Dulles, Virginia. The service module was mated with the pressurized cargo module at the launch site, with mission operations coordinated from control centers in Dulles and Houston, Texas.[5] The flight is notable as the first launch of the Cygnus XL configuration, designed to increase cargo capacity and volume for future CRS missions.[3] Manifest changesNG-23 was advanced in the launch schedule after the cancellation of Cygnus NG-22. In early 2025, the NG-22 pressurized cargo module was damaged during transportation to the launch site. Following inspections, NASA and Northrop Grumman cancelled NG-22 in favor of flying the next available vehicle, NG-23, in September 2025.[6][7][8] See alsoReferences
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