Photos: Atlas 5 rocket soars from West Coast

The International Space Station crew releases the Cygnus OA-7 commercial cargo ship from the Canadian robotic arm to begin free-flight away from the lab complex, completing 43-day visit that delivered supplies, food and science gear.

A small spacecraft built for the Russian military lifted off Thursday on top of a modified Soyuz booster, beginning a mission to reportedly test a compact Earth-imaging platform that could be used on future spy satellites.

Chinese scientists and engineers are counting down to launch of a heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket Monday with the Chang’e 5 mission, an ambitious attempt to land on the moon, drill samples from beneath the lunar surface, and return the material to Earth.