One day after the arrival of a Russian cargo ship, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched an upgraded Northrop Grumman space freighter Sunday, putting the unpiloted spacecraft on course for capture by the International Space Station early Wednesday.

On board: more than 5 tons of needed spare parts, research material and crew supplies, including holiday treats for the station crew.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket climbs away from pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, boosting a Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo ship toward orbit on a flight to the International Space Station. SpaceX

"The (Cygnus) is packed with consumables, like nitrogen, oxygen, food and toilet parts, and it has a large number of spare parts that are required for systems like, for example, our urine processor," said Dina

See Full Page