Q&A with Mike Hawes, Lockheed Martin’s Orion program manager

Completing a fast-track, three-hour pursuit of the International Space Station, a Russian Progress supply ship overcame a last-minute misalignment and autonomously linked up with with orbiting research complex Thursday with nearly three tons of fuel, food and supplies.

SpaceX’s second Falcon Heavy rocket is set for liftoff Thursday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and the heavy-lift launcher will head on an easterly course over the Atlantic Ocean atop more than 5 million pounds of thrust.

A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket will deliver the U.S. Air Force’s second GPS 3-series navigation satellite into an elliptical transfer orbit nearly two hours after liftoff from Cape Canaveral.