Video: Time lapse of ATV’s final departure from ISS

A Falcon 9 booster fresh from SpaceX’s factory briefly fired its nine Merlin main engines Tuesday on a Cape Canaveral launch pad, passing a key test before liftoff Dec. 4 with a Dragon supply ship heading for the International Space Station.

Packed with food, hardware and experiments in biology, Earth science and space technology, a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon supply ship lifted off Monday from Cape Canaveral destined for the International Space Station.

Launches of interplanetary missions can only depart Earth when the positions of the planets are just right, and officials managing the development of probes set for launch in 2021 and 2022 to explore asteroids and Jupiter says construction milestones and reviews are proceeding to keep the projects on schedule despite the coronavirus pandemic.