A supply ship bearing John Glenn's name arrived at the International Space Station on Saturday. Astronauts used the station's big robot arm to grab the capsule, as the craft flew 250 miles above Germany. NASA's commercial shipper, Orbital ATK, named the spacecraft the S.S. John Glenn in honor of the first American to orbit Earth. It rocketed from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Tuesday with nearly 7,700 pounds of food, experiments and other goods. Glenn died in December at age 95 and was buried earlier this month at Arlington National Cemetery.

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA/MIAMI – The International Space Station received its first shipment from a private, Virginia-based company in more than two years Sunday following a sensational nighttime launch observed 250 miles up and down the East Coast. Orbital ATK's cargo ship pulled up at the space station bearing 5,000 pounds of food, equipment and research. "What a beautiful vehicle," said Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, who used the station's big robot arm to grab the vessel. The capture occurred as the spacecraft soared 250 miles above Kyrgyzstan; Onishi likened it to the last 195 meters of a marathon. Last Monday's liftoff from Wallops Island was the first by an Antares rocket since a 2014 launch explosion.

Orbital ATK returned to flight Monday evening by christening a refurbished Virginia launchpad with a smooth rocket liftoff two years after an explosion caused 15 million in damage. Flying an updated Antares rocket with new engines, the company sent its unmanned Cygnus spacecraft into orbit at 7:45 p.m., chasing down the International Space Station on a cargo resupply mission for NASA. The spacecraft is scheduled to reach the station Sunday to deliver 5,100 pounds of cargo and supplies to the astronauts there. The highly-anticipated launch, visible across much of the Mid-Atlantic, was full of drama and tension for Dulles-based Orbital ATK, which lost another unmanned Antares in a massive fireball two years ago. The problem then was with the rocket's engines--prompting the switch to the Russian-made RD-181.

As Dr. Darren S. McKnight of Integrity Applications explained during a recent presentation at the 32nd Space Symposium held in Colorado Springs, Colo., this week, every satellite collision could potentially produce hundreds to thousands of debris fragments. And each of those fragments in turn becomes a potential satellite-killing missile. Even tiny bits of debris just a centimeter in diameter, known as the lethal non-trackable (LNT) population, can blast holes clean through satellite components, rendering the spacecraft non-operational. In fact, these LNT debris are in many ways more dangerous than larger pieces, due to the sheer number of them. McKnight calculates that there are anywhere from 15 to 30 times as many LNT debris currently in orbit than the entire cataloged population of pieces bigger than 10cm.

The six astronauts at the International Space Station got an early Easter treat this weekend with the arrival of a supply ship full of fresh food and experiments. Instead of the usual bunny, Saturday's delivery came via a swan -- Orbital ATK's Cygnus capsule, named after the swan constellation. The cargo carrier rocketed away from Cape Canaveral on Tuesday night. NASA astronaut Timothy Kopra used the station's big robot arm to grab the capsule, as the two craft soared 250 miles above the Indian Ocean. Four hours later, the capsule was bolted firmly to the complex.

The six astronauts at the International Space Station got an early Easter treat this weekend with the arrival of a supply ship full of fresh food and experiments. Instead of the usual bunny, Saturday's delivery came via a swan -- Orbital ATK's Cygnus capsule, named after the swan constellation. The cargo carrier rocketed away from Cape Canaveral on Tuesday night. NASA astronaut Timothy Kopra used the station's big robot arm to grab the capsule, as the two craft soared 250 miles above the Indian Ocean. Four hours later, the capsule was bolted firmly to the complex.

The six astronauts at the International Space Station got an early Easter treat this weekend with the arrival of a supply ship full of fresh food and experiments. Instead of the usual bunny, Saturday's delivery came via a swan -- Orbital ATK's Cygnus capsule, named after the swan constellation. The cargo carrier rocketed away from Cape Canaveral on Tuesday night. NASA astronaut Timothy Kopra used the station's big robot arm to grab the capsule, as the two craft soared 250 miles above the Indian Ocean. A Russian cargo ship will lift off Thursday, followed by a SpaceX supply run on April 8. NASA has turned to private industry to keep the space station stocked.

The six astronauts at the International Space Station got an early Easter treat this weekend with the arrival of a supply ship full of fresh food and experiments. Instead of the usual bunny, Saturday's delivery came via a swan -- Orbital ATK's Cygnus capsule, named after the swan constellation. The cargo carrier rocketed away from Cape Canaveral on Tuesday night. NASA astronaut Timothy Kopra used the station's big robot arm to grab the capsule, as the two craft soared 250 miles above the Indian Ocean. A Russian cargo ship will lift off in a few days, followed by a SpaceX supply run on April 8. NASA has turned to private industry to keep the space station stocked.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Fresh supplies shipped out late Tuesday for the International Space Station, where the shelves finally are getting full after a string of failed deliveries. Launching beneath the light of a nearly full moon, the unmanned Atlas V rocket provided late-night sparkle as it headed north with its precious cargo and paralleled the East Coast on its way to orbit. Orbital ATK's Cygnus capsule holds nearly 8,000 pounds of food, equipment and scientific research for NASA, including a commercial-quality 3-D printer anyone can rent and experimental robotic grippers modeled after the thousands of sticky hairs on geckos' feet. There's also a fire experiment that will remain on the Cygnus. Researchers will ignite a large-scale blaze, in a contained box, to see how it spreads in weightlessness.

United Launch Alliance launched an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral that is headed towards the International Space Station. An Atlas V rocket launch carrying a Cygnus spacecraft bound for the International Space Station lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on March 22, 2016. CAPE CANAVERAL -- An unmanned Cygnus supply ship is headed for a Saturday morning rendezvous with the International Space Station after an 11:05 p.m. ET Tuesday blastoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard an Atlas V rocket. The 194-foot United Launch Alliance rocket blazed into a night sky brightened by a nearly full moon, carrying the Orbital ATK Cygnus packed with 7,500 pounds of food, equipment and science experiments. "These resupply missions are critical," Kenny Todd, NASA's space station operations integration manager, said before the launch.