SpaceX Falcon 9 launched Northrop Grumman's new Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft on its debut mission NG-23, to the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday, Sept. 14, at 2211 UTC from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40.

The Falcon 9 rocket's first-stage booster B1094 which is on its fourth flight, successfully returned to Landing Zone 2 at Cape Canaveral about eight minutes after liftoff as planned. Meanwhile Cygnus XL separated from the Falcon 9 second stage in orbit about 15 minutes after liftoff, on its way to the space station.

"@NorthropGrumman's Cygnus XL cargo craft deployed its cymbal-shaped UltraFlex solar arrays about an hour-and-a-half after launch today powering the spacecraft during its flight to the station," NASA ISS page wrote on X.

The NG-23 mission marks the first flight of the Cygnus XL, a significantly larger and more capable freighter capable of carrying 4,990 kilograms(kg) of cargo, a 33% increase over previous models. The previous iteration hauled about 3,855 kg pounds of cargo to the ISS.

The spacecraft, named S.S. William "Willie" McCool in honor of the Columbia STS-107 pilot, will be captured by the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm and berthed to the Unity module on Wednesday, September 17, 2025 at about 1035 UTC.

NG-23 is Northrop Grumman's 23rd resupply mission to the ISS under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services-2 contract. The Cygnus XL's increased capacity allows for more science and cargo delivery, including materials for semiconductor and pharmaceutical crystal production, equipment for cryogenic fuel tank improvements, and a specialized UV light system to combat microbial growth in the station's water systems.

Among the supplies packed aboard the freighter are "materials to produce semiconductor crystals in space and equipment to develop improvements for cryogenic fuel tanks," NASA officials wrote in a statement. "The spacecraft also will deliver a specialized UV light system to prevent the growth of microbe communities that form in water systems and supplies to produce pharmaceutical crystals that could treat cancer and other diseases."

The spacecraft will remain docked to the ISS until at least March 2026, after which it will be filled with waste and deorbited to burn up in Earth's atmosphere. Unlike SpaceX's reusable Dragon capsule, Cygnus is a disposable spacecraft.

The Cygnus XL's larger size necessitates temporary unberthing from the ISS during the approach of a crewed Russian Soyuz spacecraft in November 2025 for safety reasons.

NG-23 is the first Cygnus launch since August 2024, when NG-21 took flight. NG-22 was supposed to follow in January of this year but was delayed to June due to avionics issues. Then, in late March, NASA announced that NG-22 had been called off, as a result of damage the Cygnus incurred during transport to the launch site.

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in London for the "Unite the Kingdom" rally organized by anti-illegal immigration activist Tommy Robinson on Saturday, with attendance estimates by police significantly exceeding initial projections.

The event, billed as a demonstration for free speech and British heritage, was also a tribute to the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot at Utah Valley University, with demonstrators holding pictures and banners of him.

The event drew significant attention in part due to the presence of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who appeared via video link, and French populist politician Éric Zemmour, who spoke in French with a translator.

Musk condemned the UK government and called for the dissolution of parliament, while speakers slammed European leaders' immigration policies.

"I think there’s something beautiful about being British and what I see happening here is a destruction of Britain, initially a slow erosion but rapidly increasing erosion of Britain with massive uncontrolled migration," Musk said.

The Tesla chief criticized the government's failure to protect citizens, saying "the government has failed in its duty to protect innocent people including children who are getting gang-raped."

Musk called for immediate political change, declaring, "You can’t - we don’t have another four years, or whenever the next election is, it’s too long. Something’s got to be done. There’s got to be a dissolution of parliament and a new vote held." He also labeled the left as "the party of murder" following Charlie Kirk's death.

Robinson described the event as the "biggest freedom of speech" rally in British history and claimed the "silent majority will be silent no longer," declaring "the revolution has started - and you can't stop it."

The rally featured a mix of nationalist, Christian and anti-illegal immigration rhetoric, with attendees chanting "We want our country back!" and "[UK Prime Minister] Keir Starmer’s a wanker," and displaying Union Jacks, St. George’s Cross flags, and wooden crosses.

A violent far-left counter-protest of about 5,000 people, organized by 'Stand Up To Racism,' took place, leading to violent clashes with police, resulting in 26 officers being injured, including four seriously, and 25 arrests.

The rally included a tribute video to Charlie Kirk, featuring a viral clip of him giving advice to a 13-year-old girl at a Turning Point USA event. Demonstrators held signs with Kirk's image, including one reading "Freedom of speech is dead. RIP Charlie Kirk" and another with "Change my mind: RIP Charlie."

Robinson described Kirk as "one of our generation’s greatest" and a "godfather of campus conservatism" who inspired a generation.

A central theme of the rally was opposition to immigration, with Robinson claiming that courts had ruled the rights of undocumented migrants supersede those of the British public 

He cited a Court of Appeal decision to overturn an injunction blocking asylum seekers being housed at The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, as evidence of this claim 

The rally's focus on immigration was linked to the ongoing debate over migrants crossing the English Channel in overcrowded boats 

Speakers like Zemmour slammed the "great replacement" of European people by those from the "south" and "Muslim culture," accusing the UK of being "colonised by our former colonies."