A Long March 6 booster took off Tuesday from China with three commercial Earth observation satellites designed to record high-definition video and color imagery from a perch more than 300 miles above the planet.

Just two weeks before it flies to space, the core stage of the next Atlas 5 rocket was erected aboard the mobile launcher platform this morning by United Launch Alliance technicians to kick off a streamlined vehicle assembly that will break a record.

NASA officials announced Thursday that the agency will move forward with the development of a plutonium-powered robotic quadcopter drone to explore Saturn’s moon Titan, a hazy world covered with dunes and methane lakes that scientists say is reminiscent of the ancient Earth.