Cygnus Takes Flight

This stunning false-color infrared image shows in stark detail the fiery blast of the Antares rocket carrying the commercial Cygnus cargo ship on its maiden flight from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on September 18.

Orbital Sciences Corporation of Dulles, Virginia, is demonstrating for the first time the flight capabilities of its new unmanned resupply spaceship, which is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station on September 22.

The spacecraft will deliver about 1,300 pounds (589 kilograms) of cargo, including food and clothing, to the Expedition 37 crew.

—Andrew Fazekas

Photograph courtesy Bill Ingalls, NASA

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