EchoStar 19 launch seen from KSC Press Site

A Chinese Long March 2C rocket launched Monday with two satellites for Pakistan’s national space agency, extending a partnership between the two countries’ space programs.

Two navigation satellites joined China’s growing Beidou network with a successful rocket flight Friday that set a new record for the most Chinese space launches in a year.

A steel tube built as a stand-in for the core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System has arrived at the Kennedy Space Center for a series of rehearsals to hone the skills of technicians before the real rocket reaches the spaceport, an oft-delayed milestone that could still be a year or more away.