Godspeed, S.S. John Glenn: Orbital ATK's OA-7 Cygnus Cargo Launch in Pictures

The rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with an audience of beachgoers watching from Florida’s Atlantic coast.

The Atlas V rocket that sent Cygnus into space was provided by the United Launch Alliance instead of the usual Orbital ATK Antares rocket. That’s because Cygnus was packed with more cargo than usual — about 7,635 lbs. (3,463 kilograms), or 660 lbs. (300 kg) more than what could be packed on an Antares.

The spacecraft’s on-board camera captured this view of Earth from Space about 3 minutes after liftoff.

OA-7 soars at maximum dynamic pressure, or max Q, before the stage 1 rocket engines cut off.

The Centaur upper stage rocket separated from Cygnus about 4.5 minutes after launch.

The Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft named S.S. John Glenn is seen here inside its protective payload fairing. The Cygnus is en route to be mated to its Atlas V rocket ahead of its planned April 18, 2017, launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft S.S. John Glenn rolls out its pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida ahead of a planned April 18, 2017 launch.

An Orbital ATK cargo ship bound for the International Space Station is poised for liftoff Tuesday (April 18, 2017) aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket.

The Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft named S.S. John Glenn is seen here inside its protective payload fairing. The Cygnus is en route to be mated to its Atlas V rocket ahead of its planned April 18, 2017, launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft S.S. John Glenn is encapsulated in its protective payload fairing on March 9 ahead of its planned cargo launch to the International Space Station. The spacecraft is scheduled to launch on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on March 27.

The Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft S.S. John Glenn is seen in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of its planned March 24 launch to the International Space Station.

Orbital ATK’s Cygnus cargo craft, covered in a protective shroud, arrives at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 23.

In the Space Station Processing Facility high bay at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane is used to lower a protective covering around the Cygnus pressurized cargo module on Feb. 21.

Tehcnicians and engineers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida load supplies and scientific research materials onto the Cygnus spacecraft’s pressurized cargo module for the Orbital ATK CRS-7 mission to the International Space Station.

Inside the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 41 United Launch Alliance technicians oversee the process of connecting the payload fairing with the Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo module to the upper or second stage of the Centaur Atlas V rocket.

A launch is in the works as this payload fairing with the Orbital ATK Cygnus pressurized cargo module inside rises by crane to be mated with the ULA Atlas V rocket at the ULA Vertical Integration Facility’s Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida. The module contains 7,600 pounds of supplies, equipment and scientific research materials headed for the International Space Station.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida, the Orbital ATK Cygnus pressurized cargo module rides atop a KAMAG transporter. The payload fairing approaches the ULA Horizontal Integration Facility and will be lifted and mated to the ULA Atlas V rocket for the resupply services mission to the ISS. The Orbital ATK CRS-7 commercial resupply service mission will carry 7,600 pounds of supplies, equipment and scientific research materials.

The Cygnus cargo module has been renamed the S.S. John Glenn in honor of the late former astronaut. Inside the Orbital ATK Cygnus pressurized cargo module a banner of John Glenn is displayed to greet Expedition 50. The module will launch for the International Space Station atop a ULA Atlas V rocket. The Orbital ATK CRS-7 commercial resupply services mission will take 7,600 pounds of supplies, equipment and scientific research materials to the space station.

Technicians prep payloads for final placement inside the cargo module inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Kennedy Space Center. The Orbital ATK CRS-7 commercial resupply services mission will carry 7,600 pounds of supplies, equipment and scientific research materials to the space station. Launch will be from Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 41 atop a ULA Atlas V rocket.

At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, ULA technicians load late cargo into the Orbital ATK Cygnus pressurized cargo module. The International Space Station is expecting the Orbital ATK CRS-7 commercial resupply services mission to bring 7,600 pounds of supplies, equipment and scientific research materials.