Cygnus Safely in Orbit and Headed to Space Station

Cygnus Ascent into Space
Commander Scott Kelly saw the Cygnus spacecraft heading to space Sunday after its launch from Florida at 4:44 p.m. EST/9:44 p.m. UTC. He photographed the spacecraft rising above the Earth’s horizon from the International Space Station and posted it to Twitter. Credit: @StationCDRKelly

At 6:04 p.m. EST, the twin UltraFlex solar arrays of Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft completed deployment. All of Cygnus’ systems are reported in excellent shape.

The spacecraft is set to arrive at the International Space Station on Wednesday, Dec. 9. NASA crew members Kjell Lindgren and Scott Kelly will use the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to reach out and capture Cygnus at about 6:10 a.m. NASA TV coverage of rendezvous and grapple of Cygnus will begin at 4:45 a.m.

To join the online conversation about the Orbital ATK CRS-4 launch and the International Space Station on Twitter, follow @Space_Station and #Cygnus.

4 thoughts on “Cygnus Safely in Orbit and Headed to Space Station”

  1. is it possible to see the two satellites meet up from the ground ? I track the movements of the ISS and watch it pass over and think it would be amazing to see the link up !

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