Live coverage of the countdown and launch of the NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive environmental satellite aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
Falcon 9
Live coverage: All systems go for launch after final Crew Dragon readiness review
SpaceX conducted a final Launch Readiness Review on Monday ahead of the scheduled liftoff Wednesday of NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken on a test flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station. Launch remains set for 4:33:33 p.m. EDT (2033:33 GMT) Wednesday, weather permitting.
Falcon 9
Live coverage: SpaceX launches first upgraded Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket
SpaceX launched the first of the company’s upgraded generation of Falcon 9 launchers, known as Block 5, from the Kennedy Space Center on Friday at 4:14 p.m. EDT (2014 GMT). The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off with Bangladesh’s first communications satellite, and SpaceX recovered the rocket’s first stage on a vessel in the Atlantic Ocean.
News
Relativity books up to six launches for Iridium, reveals plans for Vandenberg pad
Relativity Space, a small launch startup aiming to fly its orbital rocket from Cape Canaveral for the first time next year, announced Wednesday it has signed a contract with Iridium for up to six launches of the company’s spare communications satellites. Relativity also announced it plans to develop a second launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California to allow for missions to polar orbits.