Photos: More shots of Thursday’s Atlas 5 rocket launch

Two days after launching from Cape Canaveral with nearly 5,500 pounds of supplies and experiments, an automated SpaceX Dragon cargo craft approached the International Space Station Monday. The Dragon supply ship was grappled by the station’s robotic arm at 7:01 a.m. EDT (1101 GMT).

On its first launch of the year, a Russian-made Proton rocket lifted off Thursday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with a French-built, Russian-owned communications satellite.

On the cusp of the company’s next Cygnus resupply flight to the International Space Station set for launch Thursday night from Virginia, Northrop Grumman officials said they are eager for NASA to approve more Cygnus cargo missions beyond those already on contract through 2022.