Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket launches, and lands, at Cape Canaveral

The U.S. Defense Department’s internal watchdog has opened a probe into whether the Pentagon’s contracts with United Launch Alliance were properly awarded after a former ULA executive implied the government rigged a recent procurement in favor of the company.

A commercial Dragon cargo capsule wrapped up a four-week stay at the International Space Station on Monday with a departure from the complex at 12:01 p.m. EDT (1601 GMT). The spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 5:48 p.m. EDT (2148 GMT) with several tons of research specimens and equipment.

The Starlink 17-49 mission was the 73rd mission flying SpaceX’s broadband internet satellites to orbit. Liftoff from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 9:46 p.m. PDT (12:46 a.m. EDT / 0446 UTC).