Space station receives Va. cargo

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The International Space Station received its first shipment from Virginia in more than two years Sunday.

Orbital ATK’s cargo ship pulled up at the space station bearing 5,000 pounds of food, equipment and research.

“What a beautiful vehicle,” said Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, who used the station’s big robot arm to grab the vessel. The capture occurred as the spacecraft soared 250 miles above Kyrgyzstan; Onishi likened it to the last meters of a marathon.

Last Monday’s liftoff from Wallops Island was the first by an Antares rocket since a 2014 launch explosion.

NASA via AP A resupply ship approaches the International Space Station on Sunday in this image shown on NASA TV.