Private spacecraft launches for International Space Station rendezvous

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va., Sept. 18 (UPI) -- A private rocket with supplies for the International Space Station lifted off Wednesday from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, the space agency said.

The Orbital Sciences Corp. Cygnus spacecraft will deliver about 1,300 pounds of cargo, including food and clothing, to the ISS' Expedition 37 crew, who will grapple and attach the capsule using the orbiting laboratory's robotic arm, NASA said in a release.

When the Cygnus launched, the space station was flying about 261 miles above the southern Indian Ocean.

Traveling 17,500 mph in Earth's orbit, Cygnus is scheduled to rendezvous with the International Space Station Sunday for the demonstration resupply mission, NASA said.