SpaceX launches 4.99-ton cargo ship to the International Space Station

(Dan Tri) - SpaceX has successfully launched the Cygnus XL cargo ship, the largest cargo spacecraft ever, to the International Space Station (ISS).

SpaceX launches largest cargo ship ever to the International Space Station ( Video : SpaceX).

The Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Cygnus XL took off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (Florida, USA) at 6:11 pm on September 14 (ie 5:11 am on September 15, Vietnam time).

The mission, codenamed NG-23, marks the 23rd time Northrop Grumman has delivered cargo to the ISS for NASA. This is also the debut of the Cygnus XL version, which can carry up to 4.99 tons, significantly more than the previous version (3.85 tons).

This time the goods include: Materials for producing semiconductor crystals in a zero-gravity environment, research equipment to improve super-cold fuel tanks, specialized UV light systems to help kill bacteria in water systems, and raw materials to create potential pharmaceutical crystals to treat cancer and incurable diseases.

SpaceX launched Northrop Grumman's new "Cygnus XL" cargo ship (Photo: SpaceX).

The ship is named SS William "Willie" McCool, in memory of the astronaut who died in the Columbia disaster (2003). Cygnus XL is expected to arrive at the ISS at 6:35 a.m. on September 17 (US time), and will be received by the Canadarm2 robot arm.

The Cygnus spacecraft will stay at the Space Station until March 2026, after which it will leave the station and burn up in Earth's atmosphere.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Progress cargo ship, which arrived at the ISS on September 13, is also a single-use craft like Cygnus. But the third cargo ship currently in operation, SpaceX’s Dragon, is different: it parachutes into the ocean, then is recovered, refurbished, and reused.

Northrop Grumman is a leading American aerospace and defense technology corporation, specializing in the development of satellites, drones, missile systems, sensors and spacecraft (such as Cygnus).

Since 2013, the corporation has carried out dozens of resupply missions using the Cygnus cargo ship – an unmanned ship specifically designed for missions to transport supplies and scientific equipment into space.

Cygnus is not a reusable ship, but in return, it is a cargo ship with a large payload, high stability, supports many complex scientific studies and plays an irreplaceable role in ISS operations.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/khoa-hoc/spacex-phong-tau-cho-hang-499-tan-len-tram-vu-tru-quoc-te-20250915150848404.htm