SpaceX launches huge 'Cygnus XL' cargo ship carrying over 5 tons of supplies to ISS astronauts (video)

SpaceX launched launch a massive cargo ship packed with over 5 tons of gear for astronauts on the International Space Station early Saturday (April 11), then aced a rocket landing minutes after the Florida liftoff.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soared into a blue sky over Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 7:41 a.m. EDT (1141 GMT) on Saturday, sending Northrop Grumman's "Cygnus XL" resupply freighter toward the International Space Station (ISS). The mission, called NG-24, is Northrop Grumman's 24th resupply flight to the ISS for NASA.

The robotic Cygnus XL will arrive at the ISS on Monday (April 13), when it will be grappled by the orbiting lab's Canadarm2 robotic arm. That capture is scheduled for 12:50 p.m. EDT (1650 GMT), NASA said.