Snapshots from Atlas 5 launch

Two-and-a-half days after launch from Virginia, a Northrop Grumman Cygnus supply ship arrived at the International Space Station Tuesday with nearly 7,500 pounds of cargo. Capture with the station’s robotic arm occurred at 4:05 a.m. EST (0905 GMT).

Taking advantage of available astronaut time, the International Space Station’s crew will cast off the commercial Orbital ATK Cygnus freighter on Sunday morning nearly six weeks ahead of schedule.

NASA has agreed to consider a Boeing proposal to extend the first piloted test flight of its commercial CST-100 Starliner crew capsule from two weeks to up to six months with an extra crew member for the International Space Station, hedging against potential delays that could jeopardize U.S. crew access to the orbiting outpost.