Live coverage of the countdown and launch of an Ariane 5 rocket with the Arabsat 6B and GSAT 15 communications satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
Mission Reports
Live coverage: Chinese sample return spacecraft completes docking in lunar orbit
After launching Nov. 23 and arriving in lunar orbit over the weekend, China’s Chang’e 5 sample return mission landed on the moon Tuesday, targeting a volcanic region in the Oceanus Procellarum region. On Thursday, the craft’s ascender vehicle took off to begin the trip back to Earth, followed by a successful docking with the mission’s return vehicle in lunar orbit Saturday.
Falcon 9
Live coverage: Falcon 9 blasts off with X-37B mini-shuttle
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off Thursday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida with the U.S. Air Force’s X-37B mini-shuttle, an unpiloted orbiting military laboratory. Liftoff occurred at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT), and the Falcon 9’s first stage booster successfully landed at Cape Canaveral a few minutes later.