Orbital ATK's cargo ship arrives at space station

Orbital ATK's Cygnus cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station on Saturday, carrying more than 7,600 pounds (3,450 kg) of science experiments and supplies for the station's five-person crew.

The unmanned commercial spacecraft, on its seventh contracted resupply mission for NASA, was grappled by a robotic arm operated by astronauts inside the space station at 6:05 a.m. EDT (1005 GMT), the U.S. space agency said.

About two and a half hours later, the spacecraft was installed to the orbiting lab's Earth-facing port of the Unity module.

For this mission, Cygnus is carrying a variety of essential items including food, clothing, crew supplies, spare parts, laboratory equipment and scientific experiments.

The new experiments cover research on cancer-fighting drugs, crystal growth and atmospheric reentry, NASA said.

The cargo also included 38 cubesats, many built by university students, which will be deployed directly from either the space station or the spacecraft in the coming months.

The spacecraft was launched on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on Tuesday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

It is named the S.S. John Glenn in honor of John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, who died in December at age 95.

Orbital ATK, a commercial cargo provider for NASA, said it is prepared to launch two additional cargo missions this year. Endi