Video: Cygnus freighter arrives at orbital destination

Slung under the belly of a specially-equipped carrier airplane, a Northrop Grumman Pegasus rocket took off Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base on a two-day trek to a remote U.S. military test site in the Pacific Ocean, where crews will ready the air-dropped booster for launch of a NASA research satellite next week.

The launch of a Japanese H-2B rocket was called off Tuesday after a fire broke out on the launch pad a few hours before liftoff. A new target launch date has not been confirmed. The mission will carry an HTV cargo ship into orbit on a resupply run to the International Space Station.

Closing out a 27-hour pursuit after a predawn launch from Florida’s Space Coast, a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule glided to an automated docking early Sunday at the International Space Station, accomplishing one of the ship’s key test objectives before astronauts take a ride later this year.