Launch Photos: Orbital ATK's Cygnus OA-6 Lights Up the Night in Dazzling Liftoff

Space Launch Complex 41

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with a single-engine Centaur upper stage stands ready to boost an Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft on a resupply mission to the International Space Station. Science payloads include the second generation of a portable onboard printer to demonstrate three-dimensional printing, an instrument for first space-based observations of the chemical composition of meteors entering Earth’s atmosphere and an experiment to study how fires burn in microgravity. The image was released on March 22, 2016.

Cygnus Ready for Launch

An Atlas V rocket, carrying Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft, is rolled to pad at Space Launch Complex-41 in preparation for launch of the initial leg of the OA-6 cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS). This image was taken on March 22, 2016, during launch preparations.

Awaiting Liftoff

An Atlas V rocket, carrying Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft, is rolled to pad at Space Launch Complex-41 in preparation for launch of the initial leg of the OA-6 cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS). This image was taken on March 22, 2016, during launch preparations.

Making Way to the ISS

The Cygnus spacecraft, encapsulated inside a 4-meter diameter payload fairing, is transported and mated to its Atlas V booster. The image was uploaded on March 22, 2016, during launch preparations.