Cygnus XL near the International Space Station on April 13, 2026, before capture. Photo: NASA/Jessica Meir. Archive arrival photo, not the scheduled Oct. 9 departure.
NASA will stream the scheduled Cygnus XL space station departure on Oct. 9, 2026, with coverage beginning at 12:30 p.m. EDT. Northrop Grumman’s cargo spacecraft is scheduled for release from the International Space Station at 12:45 p.m. EDT.
Ground flight controllers will command the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to detach Cygnus XL from the Unity module’s Earth-facing port and maneuver it into position for release. NASA astronaut Luke Delaney will monitor the operation aboard the orbital complex.
The spacecraft has delivered more than 11,000 pounds of supplies, science experiments and other cargo to the International Space Station for NASA. It launched April 11 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
After its scheduled departure, Cygnus XL is due to deorbit Sunday, Oct. 11, carrying thousands of pounds of disposal items and other unneeded cargo. NASA says it will burn up during re-entry and that the agency will not provide coverage of the deorbit.
Watch NASA’s live coverage online.
Source: NASA.
