Orbital ATK has launched its ninth cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station (ISS) from Nasa’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, US.

The mission was launched on-board an Orbital ATK Antares rocket on behalf of Nasa under the CRS-1 contract.

As part of the launch, the Antares rocket carried Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft, which was loaded with around 3,350kg of supplies and scientific equipment.

The rocket deployed the spacecraft into orbit around nine minutes into the flight.

Orbital ATK has established reliable communications with the spacecraft, which has already fully deployed its solar arrays to receive necessary electrical power to operate.