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Advanced botany and biology research to sustain crews on future missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond wrapped up the week aboard the International Space Station. The Expedition 74 crew also continued unpacking a U.S. cargo craft while keeping up the maintenance of the orbital outpost.

The International Space Station is orbiting higher today after the Progress 93 resupply ship, docked to the Zvezda service module, fired its engines for just over five minutes Wednesday night. The orbital reboost places the space station at the correct altitude for the upcoming Progress 95 cargo mission scheduled to resupply the Expedition 74 crew at the end of April.

New science experiments are getting underway and new research hardware is being activated aboard the International Space Station after being delivered aboard the Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft on Monday. The Expedition 74 crew spent Wednesday unpacking Cygnus XL and stowing the new gear and supplies throughout the orbital outpost.

The hatches are open between Northrop Grumman’s second Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft and the International Space Station following its robotic capture and installation on Monday. The Expedition 74 crew is now beginning to unload some of the new science and crew supplies delivered on Monday.

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL spacecraft has been installed to the Unity module’s Earth-facing port of the International Space Station. The mission is known as NASA’s Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply Services 24, or Northrop Grumman CRS-24. Filled with more than 11,000 pounds of research and supplies, the Northrop Grumman Cygnus XL spacecraft, carried on a SpaceX Falcon

At 1:20 p.m. EDT, NASA astronaut Chris Williams, with assistance from NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway, captured Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL spacecraft using the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm.

NASA's coverage is underway on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel for the capture of Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL spacecraft. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of online platforms, including social media.

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL spacecraft deployed its two solar arrays after launching earlier today at 7:41 a.m. EDT on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The mission is known as NASA’s Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply Services-24, or Northrop Grumman CRS-24. 

Cygnus XL Cargo Craft Launches to Resupply Expedition 74 Crew

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft sits atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket counting down to a launch targeted at 7:41 a.m. EDT on Saturday to resupply the Expedition 74 crew. Packed with over 11,000 pounds of lab hardware, science experiments, and crew supplies, Cygnus XL is due to arrive at the International Space Station where it will be captured with the Candarm2 robotic arm on Monday.