Cygnus spacecraft released from robot arm

The Orbital Sciences Cygnus spacecraft flew away from the International Space Station on Oct. 22, wrapping up 23 days aboard the orbiting outpost on a demonstration for a commercial cargo delivery service.

The automated spaceship delivered more than 1,300 pounds of supplies when it arrived at the space station Sept. 29. It took away about 2,850 pounds of trash when it left, heading for a fiery re-entry over the South Pacific Ocean.

Space station flight engineer Karen Nyberg posted these photos of the departure on her Twitter account.

See our Mission Status Center for the latest news on the mission.

Credit: NASA