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The International Space Station and Cygnus flight control teams are proceeding toward capture at approximately 5:20 a.m. EDT. Orbital ATK reports all spacecraft systems are ready for the final stages of rendezvous and space station flight controllers report the orbiting outpost is ready for the commercial spacecraft’s arrival.

The spacecraft will deliver scientific investigations including those that will study microbiology, physics, materials science, plant biology, liquid separation and more.

NASA Television coverage of capture has begun. Watch live online at www.nasa.gov/live.

A timeline of remaining Cygnus and space station activities for the earliest capture attempt is below:

Time (EDT)   Event

• 4:05 a.m.      Cygnus within 300m of Space Station
• 4:09 a.m.      250m Hold Point Arrival
• 4:29 a.m.      250m Hold Point Departure
• 4:40 a.m.      Cygnus within 100m of Space Station
• 4:52 a.m.      Earliest “Go” for Capture
• 4:53 a.m.      30m Hold Point Arrival
• 5:12 a.m.      Capture Point Arrival
• 5:14 a.m.      “Go” or “No-Go” for Capture
• 5:20 a.m.      Capture

Learn more about the Orbital ATK CRS-9 mission by going to the mission home page at: http://www.nasa.gov/orbitalatk. Join the conversation on Twitter by following @Space_Station.

Get weekly video highlights at: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

The Cygnus space freighter from Orbital ATK is closing in on the International Space Station ready to deliver 7,400 pounds of cargo Thursday morning. The Expedition 55 crew members are getting ready for Cygnus’ arrival while also helping researchers understand what living in space does to the human body.

NASA TV is set to begin its live coverage of Cygnus’ arrival at the orbital lab Thursday at 3:45 a.m. EDT. Flight Engineer Scott Tingle will be inside the Cupola and command the Canadarm2 robotic arm to reach out and capture Cygnus at 5:20 a.m. Robotics engineers at Mission Control will then take over and remotely install Cygnus to the Earth-facing port of the Unity module later Thursday morning.

The crew started its day collecting blood and urine samples for a pair of experiments, Biochemical Profile and Repository, looking at the physiological changes taking place in astronauts. Those samples are stowed in science freezers for return to Earth so scientists can later analyze the proteins and chemicals for indicators of crew health.

Another pair of experiments taking place today is looking at bone marrow, blood cells and the cardiovascular system. The Marrow study, which looks at white and red blood cells in bone marrow, may benefit astronaut health as well as people on Earth with reduced mobility or aging conditions. The Vascular Echo experiment is observing stiffening arteries in astronauts that resembles accelerated aging.