Latest Developments

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 successfully launched Northrop Grumman’s second Cygnus XL spacecraft on Saturday, April 11, carrying more than 5 tons of supplies to the International Space Station — marking a significant logistics milestone for ISS resupply operations. The mission, designated CRS NG-24, follows closely on the heels of the S.S. William McCool’s CRS NG-23 departure, sustaining the steady cadence of crew support deliveries. With Starlink’s constellation now standing at 11,774 satellites launched, 10,214 in orbit, and 10,199 operational, SpaceX continues to balance an extraordinarily demanding dual manifest of commercial and government missions. The Cygnus XL’s expanded cargo capacity underscores the growing ambition of NASA’s commercial resupply partnerships as ISS operational demands intensify.

Space Safety

The current Starlink conjunction and reentry environment presents a moderate operational risk profile for early-to-mid April 2026. Four conjunction events are assessed at MODERATE risk levels, with the highest probability encounter involving STARLINK-33563 and a COSMOS 2251 debris fragment on Apr 13, 2026, carrying a 39.73% collision probability despite relatively fresh orbital data. Concurrently, nine Starlink satellites are predicted to reenter Earth’s atmosphere between Apr 13-18, 2026, with decay windows ranging from 1,440 to 2,880 minutes—representing a routine but notable deorbiting cycle that should proceed without significant hazard if current trajectories hold.

Detailed Coverage

Falcon 9 Sends Second Cygnus XL Toward ISS with Record Cargo Load

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 lifted off on the morning of April 11, 2026, carrying Northrop Grumman’s CRS NG-24 Cygnus XL spacecraft on a trajectory to the International Space Station. The vehicle is the second iteration of the enlarged Cygnus XL configuration, which substantially increases pressurized cargo volume over earlier Cygnus variants and allows Northrop Grumman to compete more effectively with SpaceX’s own Dragon on sheer tonnage delivered per mission.

The spacecraft is carrying over 5 tons of crew supplies, science hardware, and vehicle hardware — one of the heaviest single Cygnus manifests to date. This mission arrives shortly after the S.S. William McCool concluded the NG-23 mission, meaning ISS operators will have had little gap in commercial cargo availability. Satellite trackers will be monitoring Cygnus’s phasing orbit maneuvers as it approaches the station for berthing in the days ahead.

Read the full story: NASASpaceFlight

Cygnus XL’s Growing Role in Sustaining ISS Through the Late 2020s

Space.com highlighted the broader significance of Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL program as NASA works to sustain ISS operations deep into the decade while simultaneously funding development of commercial successor stations. The expanded vehicle’s ability to haul more than 5 tons per flight gives NASA greater flexibility in scheduling resupply cadence and provides a meaningful redundancy option alongside Dragon.

The successful Falcon 9 launch also reinforces the rocket’s reliability as a launch vehicle for third-party spacecraft — a business line SpaceX has aggressively grown alongside its own Starlink deployment flights. With Falcon 9 now routinely handling ISS cargo, Starlink batches, and national security payloads in overlapping schedules, the vehicle’s rapid turnaround capability remains one of the most consequential operational assets in the current launch market.

Read the full story: Space.com

Constellation Status

There have been no changes in the Starlink constellation since the last check. The constellation remains stable with 11,774 total satellites launched, 10,214 currently in orbit, 10,199 operational, and 1,560 decayed satellites.

• Total Launched: 11774
• Total On Orbit: 10214
• Total Working: 10199

Track Starlink satellites in real-time: Track Starlink