Gallery: Antares rocket explodes

Concluding 80 days attached the International Space Station, the commercial Cygnus cargo ship will be detached to fly away Tuesday for an unprecedented onboard fire experiment before re-entering the atmosphere next week.

United Launch Alliance has begun stacking its first Atlas 5 rocket to fly in service to the International Space Station, a commercial mission to send supplies to the orbiting complex.

Orbital ATK ground crews in Virginia are fueling the next Cygnus cargo freighter this week for launch toward the International Space Station in mid-October on the first flight of the company’s upgraded Antares rocket in two years.