Live coverage: SpaceX supply ship returns to Earth

The Transporter-16 mission is the 21st mission in the company’s smallsat rideshare program. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base occurred at 4:02 a.m. PDT (7:02 a.m. EDT / 1102 UTC).

European Space Agency member states on Thursday committed nearly 12.5 billion euros ($13.8 billion) to fund ESA programs over the next three years, promising money to grow Europe’s fleet of satellites studying Earth’s changing climate, contribute to NASA-led lunar exploration efforts, and continue ESA’s participation in the International Space Station until 2030.

U.S. and Russian vehicles ferrying crews and cargo will continue traveling to and from the International Space Station this month, sustaining the orbiting lab in its 20th year of continuous human occupation amid an escalating pandemic on Earth.