Live coverage: Falcon 9 disintegrates after launch

A commercial Northrop Grumman Cygnus supply ship berthed at the International Space Station fired its main engine for 50 seconds Tuesday in a test of the spacecraft’s ability to reboost, and possibly eventually deorbit, the massive research outpost.

NASA and Houston-based Axiom Space have signed a “mission order” setting the stage for four civilians to visit to the International Space Station early next year, the first fully commercial flight to the orbiting lab complex, agency managers said Monday.

The Starlink 9-14 mission launching from Vandenberg Space Force Base is also set to feature the 300th successful SpaceX droneship booster landing. Liftoff from pad 4 East happened at 7:05 p.m. PST (10:05 p.m. EST, 0305 UTC).