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Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus supply ship departs the International Space Station Wednesday. Credit: NASA TV/Spaceflight Now
A Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo freighter departed the International Space Station Wednesday after delivering more than 7,800 pounds of equipment and experiments, heading for an extended mission with payloads to study fire behavior in microgravity and test a next-generation radio system.
The expendable cargo ship was released from the space station’s Canadian-built robotic arm at 10:11 a.m. EST (1511 GMT) Wednesday, concluding a three-month stay at the orbiting research complex. Ground controllers commanded the robot arm to release the Cygnus spacecraft, while astronaut Kate Rubins aboard the station monitored the freighter