S.S. John Glenn freighter departs space station after successful cargo delivery

The Cygnus commercial logistics vehicle departed the International Space Station this morning for a week-long free-flight filled with autonomous science tasks before re-entry. Owing to a rejiggered schedule that optimizes astronauts’ workload, the unberthing occurred six weeks ahead of the original plan. A brief window opened in the crew’s timeline, and flight controllers decided to squeeze in the Cygnus release now instead of waiting until July 16. The timing became available when bad weather scuttled the launch of the next SpaceX Dragon cargo ship’s launch from Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, delaying its arrival at the station until Monday. More

(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jun 4)