Snapshots: Soyuz takes off

Check out imagery from Arianespace and the French space agency showing the launch of a Russian Soyuz rocket Dec. 29 from the Guiana Space Center in South America.

Teams working in Northrop Grumman’s spacecraft factory in Southern California have connected the spacecraft and science modules of the James Webb Space Telescope for the first time, a major milestone as engineers prepare to verify a fix to tears in the observatory’s sunshield, and begin launch vibration and acoustic testing in the coming months.

A Northrop Grumman Antares launched from Virginia’s Eastern Shore with a commercial Cygnus supply ship Oct. 2 on a two-and-a-half day journey to the International Space Station.