Video: Russia prepares Progress 57 cargo ship for launch

At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, preparations continue for launch of the International Space Station (ISS) Progress 57 cargo ship. The orbital module of the Soyuz-2.1 launch vehicle, containing the ISS Progress 57 spacecraft, was integrated in the processing facility. The Soyuz launch vehicle was rolled out from the integration building to the launch pad. The launch vehicle with ISS Progress 57 transport vehicle was then installed on the launch pad.

Orbital Sciences launches new cargo ship to space station

NASA commercial space partner Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., successfully launched a Cygnus cargo ship aboard its new Antares rocket at 10:58 a.m. EDT Wednesday from the Mid-AtlanticRegional Spaceport Pad-0A at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

This is the first time a spacecraft launched from Virginia is blazing a trail toward the International Space Station (ISS).

Traveling 17,500 miles per hour in Earth's orbit, Cygnus is on its way to rendezvous with the ISS on Sunday. The spacecraft will deliver about 1,300 pounds of cargo, including food and clothing, to the Expedition 37 crew aboard the space station. The crew will grapple and attach the capsule using the station's robotic arm.

Wednesday's launch was a test flight for the Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Program. The successful completion of the COTS demonstration mission will pave the way for Orbital to conduct eight planned cargo resupply flights to the space station through NASA's $1.9 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract with the company. NASA's other cargo resupply provider, Space Exploration Technologies Corp., began flying regular cargo missions to the space station in 2012, following its own COTS demonstration mission.

"Today's launch is the culmination of more than five years' work between the NASA and Orbital teams," said Alan Lindenmoyer, NASA's program manager for commercial crew and cargo.

Over the next several days, Cygnus will perform a series of maneuvers to test and prove its systems are working properly.

The ISS crew is scheduled to capture Cygnus with a robot arm at 7:25 a.m. EDT on Sunday.

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Video: Space station crew says goodbye to Japan cargo ship

International Space Station (ISS) astronaut Karen Nyberg of NASA used the Canadarm2 robotic arm to release the Japanese HTV-4 cargo ship on Wednesday, after its month stay at the orbital outpost.

The cargo craft, dubbed "Kounotori" --- the Japanese word for "white stork" --- by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, arrived at the ISS Aug. 9 filled with more than three tons of supplies and spare parts for the crew. It will be commanded to deorbit on Saturday, headed for a destructive entry into the Pacific Ocean.

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Video: Japan launches fourth cargo ship to International Space Station

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's HTV-4 Transfer Vehicle was successfully launched from the Tanegashima Space Center on Saturday for a rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS).



Once there, the HTV-4 will deliver 3.6 tons of dry cargo, water, experiments and spare parts to the ISS. Unlike a Russian Progress vehicle which docks automatically, the HTV-4 will be captured by the Canadarm2 and berthed to the ISS. The cargo ship is scheduled to reach the space station on Friday.

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