CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The International Space Station has received its first shipment from Virginia in more than two years.
Orbital ATK's cargo ship pulled up at the space station Sunday, six days after a sensational nighttime launch observed 250 miles up and down the East Coast.
The capsule — called Cygnus after the swan constellation — contains 5,000 pounds of supplies. Station astronauts grabbed it using a big robot arm.
Last Monday's liftoff from Wallops Island was the first by an Antares rocket since a 2014 launch explosion. Orbital ATK redesigned its Antares rocket and rebuilt the pad. While the Antares was grounded, the Virginia company kept the NASA supply chain open with deliveries from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
NASA is paying Orbital ATK and SpaceX to stock the station.