Live coverage: Japanese cargo craft arrives at space station

Watch a video replay of Monday night’s hotfire of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The rocket is set for launch Thursday with Qatar’s Es’hail 2 communications satellite.

The astronauts assigned to fly SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft beginning later this year said Friday they are excited for the capsule’s first orbital mission set for launch Saturday, but significant work remains before the ship is cleared to carry people.

United Launch Alliance teams ran through an 11-hour countdown Friday at Cape Canaveral to rehearse procedures before the first flight of a modified Atlas 5 rocket with Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule Dec. 20.