The International Space Station has an exterior camera that captures the departure of the Cygnus cargo ship. The image is from NASA TV.
The Cygnus cargo ship left the International Space Station on Saturday.
The station's robotic arm released the resupply vessel from its grip at 11:01 a.m. Both of the spaceships were commanded by a command from NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston as they sailed over the South Pacific Ocean. The European Space Agency astronauts on the International Space Station supervised the Cygnus spaceship's departure from the station.
The astronauts captured Cygnus in the sky.
After several weeks in space, Cygnus will be sent back to the atmosphere. During that time, ground controllers will deploy the Kentucky Re-Entry Probe Experiment, which is the latest in a series of experiments that run during the last few weeks of Cygnus missions.
NASA said in a statement that the experiment will demonstrate a thermal protection system for spacecraft and their contents during re-entry in Earth's atmosphere, which can be difficult to replicate in ground simulations.
The biggest delivery yet was hauled by Cygnus on August 12. The S.S. Ellison Onizuka was christened in honor of Ellison Onuzuka, who was killed in the Challenger shuttle disaster.
The craft arrived with more than 8,200 lbs. The biggest ever cargo delivery to the station was made by a Cygnus spaceship. The station's upgraded solar array was included in the delivery along with new hardware and a carbon dioxide scrubber. Experiments included a brainless blob and two payloads to examine human muscle cells in space.
The mission was the 15th to be launched by the company. Orbital Sciences and Orbital ATK oversaw earlier launches.
The Cygnus system has evolved from being a cargo delivery service to a high performing science platform, according to a statement.
The Gateway space station around the moon will be a home for future Artemis astronauts. The HALO module is being designed by Northrop Grumman.
The next cargo ship to visit the space station will be launched in December.
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