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Cygnus Docks With ISS, Unloading Cargo To Station

By  //  July 16, 2014

rendezvous live stream WILL begin at 5:15 a.m.

ABOVE VIDEO: Watch more information about the Cygnus arrival at the International Space Station.

UPDATE: July 16, 2014, 9 a.m.

Orbital Sciences’ Cygnus cargo spacecraft was installed to the Harmony module of the International Space Station at 8:53 a.m. EDT.

The Expedition 40 crew will begin unloading approximately 3,300 pounds of science investigations, food and supplies when the hatch between the newly arrived spacecraft and the Harmony module of the space station is opened Thursday. The spacecraft is scheduled to spend about a month attached to the station.

› Read more about the science aboard Cygnus

ORIGINAL POST: July 14, 2014

The six astronauts and cosmonauts of the International Space Station’s Expedition 40 crew supported a variety of science investigations Tuesday and squeezed in a final robotic practice session as they get set to capture a commercial cargo craft packed with more than a ton and a half of science and supplies.

The six astronauts and cosmonauts of the International Space Station’s Expedition 40 crew supported a variety of science investigations Tuesday and squeezed in a final robotic practice session as they get set to capture Orbital Sciences' Cygnus cargo craft packed with more than a ton and a half of science and supplies. (NASA.gov)
The six astronauts and cosmonauts of the International Space Station’s Expedition 40 crew supported a variety of science investigations Tuesday and squeezed in a final robotic practice session as they get set to capture Orbital Sciences’ Cygnus cargo craft packed with more than a ton and a half of science and supplies. (NASA.gov)

Orbital Sciences’ Cygnus commercial cargo vehicle is closing in on the station with several rendezvous burns to fine-tune its path for a Wednesday morning rendezvous with the orbiting complex.

Commander Steve Swanson and Flight Engineer Alexander Gerst will be at the robotics workstation in the station’s cupola to grapple Cygnus with the 57-foot Canadarm2 robotic arm at 6:39 a.m. today.

The robotics team at Houston’s Mission Control Center then will command the arm to position Cygnus for its installation on the Earth-facing port of the Harmony node.

Coverage of the Cygnus capture begins at 5:15 a.m. Live coverage will resume at 8:30 a.m. for the berthing of Cygnus, expected to take place around 8:45 a.m.

One of the Expedition 40 crew members recorded this image from aboard the International Space Station flying 226 nautical miles above the western Pacific Ocean. (NASA.gov image)
One of the Expedition 40 crew members recorded this image from aboard the International Space Station flying 226 nautical miles above the western Pacific Ocean. (NASA.gov image)