Gallery: Antares rocket explodes

A Northrop Grumman Cygnus supply ship rocketed into orbit from Virginia Friday night on an Antares launcher, taking aim on the International Space Station with an advanced $23 million zero-gravity titanium toilet and several tons of other gear.

The Orbital ATK’s Cygnus commercial resupply spacecraft, named the SS Deke Slayton II, is packed up and poised for launch to the International Space Station.

A commercial Antares cargo booster powered by new kerosene-fueled rocket engines streaked into orbit from a launch pad on the Virginia coastline Monday, returning to service to resupply the International Space Station after a two-year grounding stemming from a fiery crash in 2014.