The Cygnus Orbital ATk Crs-6 mission has docked with the ISS. According to NASA, the unmanned cargo ship was successfully captured by US astronaut and Expedition 47 Commander Tim Kopra with the assistance of ESA astronaut and Flight Engineer Tim Peake at 6:51 am EDT using one of the station’s robotic arms.
The Cygnus spacecraft lifted off from Earth at 11:05 pm EDT from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on a three-month mission to deliver about 7,500 lb (3,400 kg) of supplies to the space station. These include a suite of experiments to study zero-gravity adhesives, soils, and the effects of meteors on the Earth’s atmosphere.
The Cygnus us scheduled to remain docked at the ISS until May, after which it will be stuffed with 3,000 lb (1,361 kg) of rubbish and sent on a controlled reentry to burn up over the South Pacific Ocean. Before this happens, it will carry out a fire safety experiment by setting alight a length of material in a contained burn.