Live coverage of the countdown and flight of a Delta 4-Heavy rocket carrying NASA’s Orion space capsule on its first test flight in Earth orbit. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
Mission Reports
Facing more delays, NASA opens door to launching lunar mission with commercial rockets
In a major shift, NASA is considering using two commercial launchers to send an unpiloted Orion crew capsule and its European-built service module on a test flight around the moon next year, maintaining the lunar test flight’s schedule despite fresh delays in the development of the multibillion-dollar Space Launch System that jeopardize the heavy-lifter’s 2020 inaugural flight, the agency’s administrator said in a congressional hearing Wednesday.
Mission Reports
Live coverage: Space station crew investigating slow pressure leak
Crew members aboard the International Space Station are investigating a tiny pressure leak on the Russian side of the orbiting outpost. The crew traced the leak to a small hole on the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft, which ferried a three-person crew to the station in June. Mission control is examining options to repair the damage, and NASA says the crew is not in danger.
