Live coverage of SpaceX’s preparations for the next Falcon 9 rocket launch from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will launch the U.S. Air Force’s X-37B spaceplane. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. Watch on a mobile device.
Mission Reports
Live coverage: Chinese sample return spacecraft completes docking in lunar orbit
After launching Nov. 23 and arriving in lunar orbit over the weekend, China’s Chang’e 5 sample return mission landed on the moon Tuesday, targeting a volcanic region in the Oceanus Procellarum region. On Thursday, the craft’s ascender vehicle took off to begin the trip back to Earth, followed by a successful docking with the mission’s return vehicle in lunar orbit Saturday.
Mission Reports