Artwork: ULA Vulcan rocket revealed

When the countdown hit zero last Friday and the engines powering a previously flown Falcon 9 first stage roared to life for takeoff, the four astronauts strapped into a SpaceX Crew Dragon some 21 stories up started laughing.

NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance mission resumed normal operations Friday after cold temperatures forced the spacecraft into space mode soon after a successful launch from Cape Canaveral.

Animation depicts the flight of Boeing’s Starliner commercial crew capsule, ascending into orbit atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket to reach the International Space Station and re-entry to make an airbag-cushioned touchdown on land.