Cygnus XL Departs International Space Station for Destructive Re-Entry

The Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft is leaving the International Space Station, with ground controllers commanding its detachment from the Unity module ahead of release around 12:43 p.m. EDT. The spacecraft, which completed Northrop Grumman's Commercial Resupply Services-24 mission, is loaded with disposal items and will burn up during re-entry.

The departure marks the end of a mission that began earlier this year. Cygnus XL launched April 11 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. It was installed on the station's Unity module on April 13 after being maneuvered into position by the Canadarm2 robotic arm.

Ground controllers commanded the Canadarm2 robotic arm to detach the Cygnus XL spacecraft from the Unity module's Earth-facing port and move it into position for release. NASA astronaut Luke Delaney is monitoring the operation aboard the orbiting laboratory.

Loaded with thousands of pounds of disposal items and other unneeded cargo, Cygnus XL will deorbit Sunday, October 11, and make a destructive re-entry into Earth's atmosphere, where it will safely burn up. NASA is streaming live coverage of the departure online but will not provide coverage of the deorbit.

The mission's conclusion represents the standard end-of-life sequence for the resupply spacecraft, which carried cargo to the station and is now being used to remove unneeded material from the orbiting laboratory before its destruction in the atmosphere.

NASA will stream live coverage of the departure, with the deorbit scheduled for Sunday, October 11. The agency has confirmed it will not broadcast the re-entry.