Jason 3 Mission Science Briefing

SpaceX has ordered additional inspections on a Falcon 9 rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California,  a decision that is expected to keep the launcher grounded for several days until after the Thanksgiving holiday, officials said Saturday.

NASA has added extra safeguards to the agency’s standard pre-launch quarantine protocol to protect astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley from the coronavirus and other contagions in the final two weeks before their scheduled May 27 launch on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft.

An air-launched rocket built by Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit reached orbit Sunday for the first time, delivering 10 experimental CubeSats for NASA and positioning the company for the start of commercial operations.