Q&A with Michel Denis, ExoMars flight director

Follow the major events during the launch of Europe’s LISA Pathfinder gravitational probe testbed, from liftoff of its Vega rocket booster from French Guiana through deployment into its initial orbit.

Debuting a two-tier structure designed to accommodate dozens of small satellites on a single mission, an Italian-made Vega rocket is set for liftoff Saturday night from the northeastern coast of South America on a flight to demonstrate European industry’s answer to growing rideshare launch demand.

A new image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows a rare glimpse of a massive star 15,000 light-years away shedding a halo of gas and dust, seeding the cosmos with elements necessary for forming other stars, planets, and the building blocks of life.