Live coverage: Falcon 9 disintegrates after launch

A commercial Dragon cargo capsule is heading back to Earth Tuesday to conclude a 31-day stay at the International Space Station. The SpaceX-owned spacecraft was released from the station’s Canadian-built robotic arm at 10:59 a.m. EDT (1459 GMT), and the Dragon supply ship splashed down in the Pacific Ocean with nearly 3,400 pounds of cargo at 4:21 p.m. EDT (2021 GMT).

A Falcon 9 rocket is again standing upright on launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after ground teams lowered the booster Friday to swap out mice heading to the International Space Station for medical experiments.

SpaceX’s manifest lists three customers who are sending their payloads to a mid-inclination orbit. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is set for 8:48 p.m. ET (0048 UTC).