International Space Station supplier spacecraft flying over Earth

The expendable American cargo spaceship, known as Cygnus, launched on August 1.

The spaceship, which is designed to transport supplies to the International Space Station (ISS), can be seen flying 261 miles above the Earth.

The orbital pictures also depict Cygnus flying over the coast of the Garabogazköl Basin in Turkmenistan and the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia.

The expendable American cargo spaceship, known as Cygnus, launched on August 1. ( SWNS) (Image: SWNS)

Images of Cygnus spacecraft flying over Earth released

Manufactured and launched by Northrop Grumman Space Systems, Cygnus is part of NASA's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program.

The spacecraft carries over 8,200 pounds of cargo and science experiments.

It was launched atop the company’s Antares rocket on August 1 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Cygnus was manufactured and launched by Northrop Grumman Space Systems as part of NASA's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program. ( SWNS) (Image: SWNS)

The Cygnus images were captured by NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg, along with NASA astronaut Frank Rubio as backup, using the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm.

The spacecraft is expected to remain at the ISS until October.

It will then depart for a destructive re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.

The news comes after new research revealed that concentrations of potentially harmful chemicals in dust collected from the ISS exceed those found in floor dust from many American and western European homes.

Scientists analysed a sample of dust from air filters within the ISS and compared them to organic contaminants found in houses on Earth in the first study of its kind.

Researchers from the University of Birmingham, as well as the Nasa Glenn Research Centre, USA, have said their findings could guide the design and construction of future spacecraft.