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title: Watch a 3,500-Pound Spaceship Burn Up in the Atmosphere
description: Cygnus was released on August 15 from the ISS carrying more than 3,000 pounds of garbage before burning up in Earth&#x27;s atmosphere.
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author: Sam Frizell
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article:published_time: 2014-08-30T16:48:01.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T09:56:47.541Z
article:section: Science
og:title: Watch a 3,500-Pound Spaceship Burn Up in the Atmosphere
og:description: Cygnus was released on August 15 from the ISS carrying more than 3,000 pounds of garbage before burning up in Earth&#x27;s atmosphere.
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twitter:description: Cygnus was released on August 15 from the ISS carrying more than 3,000 pounds of garbage before burning up in Earth&#x27;s atmosphere.
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# Watch a 3,500-Pound Spaceship Burn Up in the Atmosphere

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## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ

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| Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | Subscribers | Open rate |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
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| Metric | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
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#### What newsletters does TIME publish?

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by 

[Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/)


## Sam Frizell


Aug 30, 2014 4:48 PM UTC

by 

[Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/)


## Sam Frizell


Aug 30, 2014 4:48 PM UTC

When the Cygnus supply ship arrived at the International Space Station in July with cargo that included food, science equipment and mini-satellites, the astronauts aboard knew it would be making a dramatic exit.

Cygnus was released on August 15 from the ISS carrying more than 3,000 pounds of garbage, and was catapulted through the atmosphere with the plan of having it burn its way into oblivion.

And burn its way into oblivion it did. The commercial cargo ship separated from the ISS and dropped into the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean two days later. A Vine posted Friday by one of the ISS’s current six astronauts, Reid Wiseman, shows Cygnus reentering the atmosphere and flaring up into a crisp.

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