Gallery: Antares rocket explodes

Peering down at the Earth’s atmosphere from a research window aboard the International Space Station, a new science instrument launching Tuesday will compose unprecedented characterizations of the chemical makeup of shooting stars.

A commercial supply ship owned and operated by Orbital ATK departed the International Space Station on Friday, heading for a destructive re-entry over the Pacific Ocean with more than 1.5 tons of trash. The station’s robotic arm released Cygnus at 1226 GMT (7:26 a.m. EST).

The Orbital ATK commercial Cygnus resupply vessel departed the International Space Station on Friday after 72 days spent at the outpost, delivering more than 7,000 pounds of cargo and taking away 3,000 pounds of trash.