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The Cygnus spacecraft is an automated cargo spacecraft designed to transport important materials to the International Space Station. Automated spacecraft like Cygnus are robotic, meaning that it can control itself once programmed on a course. The spacecraft uses telemetry, or radio communication, to keep in touch with crews on Earth. It is important that Cygnus can operate independently though, because there is a time delay between Earth and the spacecraft. Once Cygnus is close enough to the ISS, astronauts there use the robotic arm to latch onto the spacecraft and steer it to a port for unloading.