SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon Test Flight (December 8, 2010)

NASA has extended development agreements with SpaceX and Sierra Nevada Corp. past a March 31 deadline, giving the companies more time to complete delayed tests on commercial spacecraft intended to one day ferry astronauts into space.

The satellites were manufactured by Northrop Grumman and will provide both commercial broadband connectivity and military satellite communications in the northern polar region. Liftoff happened Sunday, Aug. 11, at 7:02 p.m. PDT (10:02 p.m. EDT 0202 UTC).

More than two dozen satellites from the U.S. military, NASA and research institutions will ride into orbit on SpaceX’s second Falcon Heavy rocket launch, a mission currently scheduled for liftoff in June, a military spokesperson said.