On Tuesday, July 30, 2024, the Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply spacecraft is seen being encapsulated inside the SpaceX Falcon 9 payload fairing as it prepares to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida for the 21st Northrop Grumman commercial resupply services for NASA.
On Tuesday, July 30, 2024, the Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply spacecraft is seen being encapsulated inside the SpaceX Falcon 9 payload fairing as it prepares to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida for the 21st Northrop Grumman commercial resupply services for NASA.

Teams with NASA, Northrop Grumman, and SpaceX completed the final major review before launch – the Launch Readiness Review – for the 21st Northrop Grumman commercial resupply to the International Space Station.

At the conclusion of the review, teams confirmed the target launch time of 11:29 a.m. EDT, Saturday, Aug. 3. Tune in to the agency’s website at 3 p.m. today, Aug. 2, to hear from senior leadership during a prelaunch teleconference.

Participants include:

  • Bill Spetch, operations integration manager, NASA’s International Space Station Program
  • Meghan Everett, deputy chief scientist, NASA’s International Space Station Program
  • Ryan Tintner, vice president, civil space systems, Northrop Grumman
  • Jared Metter, director, flight reliability, SpaceX
  • Melody Lovin, launch weather officer, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft will lift off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida to deliver more than 8,200 pounds of crew supplies, equipment, and science experiments to the orbiting laboratory.

Weather officials with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron are currently predicting a 50% chance of favorable weather conditions for launch. Primary weather concerns are for potential violations of the cumulus cloud, surface electric fields, and thick cloud layers rules.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.