Video: Soyuz MS-01 leaves the space station for landing

Ready to double its Florida launch capacity with two pads, SpaceX is preparing to loft a reused robotic cargo ship toward the International Space Station Wednesday with a recycled Falcon 9 booster, debuting a rebuilt launch complex knocked offline more than a year ago in a fiery blast during pre-flight testing.

Russian rocket technicians working in the French Guiana jungle transported a three-stage Soyuz booster to its launch pad Monday and erected it upright for liftoff Thursday with four communications satellites for O3b Networks.

Nearly seven months aboard the International Space Station may be an extreme case of social distancing and isolation, but astronaut Jessica Meir says she expects to feel more isolated than ever when she returns next week to a planet in the grip of the coronavirus.