Cygnus departs ISS, preps for fire experiment

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Cygnus departs ISS, preps for fire experiment

After spending a month attached to the International Space Station, Orbital ATK’s OA-5 Cygnus was detached and released by the robotic Canadarm2 in the morning hours of Nov. 21.

The S.S. Alan Poindexter, as the cargo ship is named, was unberthed from the Earth-facing port of the Unity module and moved to about 10 meters below the outpost. A couple hours later, at 8:22 a.m. EST (13:22 GMT), astronaut Shane Kimbrough commanded Canadarm2 to release the craft.

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Cygnus inbound for ISS

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Cygnus inbound for ISS

Orbital ATK launched their OA-5 Cygnus cargo ship, named the S.S. Alan Poindexter, on the return-to-flight of the company's Antares rocket. The vehicle lifted off at 7:45 p.m. EDT (11:45 GMT) Oct. 18 out of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport's Launch Pad 0A in Virginia.

This was the seventh planned launch of a Cygnus spacecraft and, once it arrives at the International Space Station, will be the sixth to dock with the outpost. Two years ago, the Orb-3 Cygnus was lost when the Antares rocket carrying it into orbit failed seconds after liftoff.

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