Video: Change of command aboard International Space Station

A novel communications experiment developed by NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory has arrived at the International Space Station to prove data can be transmitted in space using X-ray signals, a breakthrough that could have uses in deep space exploration and military technology on Earth.

Working via remote control this spring, scientists will spark a fire aboard the unmanned Cygnus cargo ship that launches Tuesday to study how the deliberate flames spread in weightlessness.

The second fully commercial astronaut flight to the International Space Station will have just two opportunities to launch Sunday and Monday, or else wait until after an upcoming SpaceX resupply mission next month to deliver a new set of high-priority solar arrays to the complex.