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The NG-21 Cygnus spacecraft successfully launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida on August 4, 2024 at 11:02 a.m. ET. It arrived at the space station on August 6 at 3:11am ET.
Stay tuned to this page for future updates about the launch.
Northrop Grumman is proud to name the NG-21 Cygnus spacecraft in honor of NASA astronaut Richard “Dick” Scobee.
It is the company’s tradition to name each Cygnus spacecraft to recognize an individual who has made substantial contributions to human spaceflight. Scobee was a USAF pilot and Vietnam veteran. He was selected as an astronaut in 1978 and chosen as a pilot of the STS 41-C mission where he logged 168 hours in space. In 1986, he served as commander of the Challenger spacecraft for the STS 51-L mission when he and his six crewmates lost their lives shortly after launch.
Scobee was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 2004 by President George W. Bush.
Photo credit: NASA