Live coverage: SpaceX delivers joint SES/EchoStar satellite to orbit

SpaceX is preparing to launch another batch of satellites for the Starlink Internet network from Florida’s Space Coast as soon as April 16, a sign that launch operations at Cape Canaveral could continue at a reduced pace amid the global coronavirus pandemic.

Returning home from more than a month in orbit, a SpaceX Dragon supply ship departed the International Space Station and parachuted into the Pacific Ocean on Sunday with nearly two tons of research specimens and hardware, including mice sent up to investigate how spaceflight affects eyesight and locomotion.

The Tranche 1 Transporter Layer E (T1TL-E) mission was the third batch of operational satellites launched to support the SDA’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture satellite constellation. Liftoff from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 1:32 p.m. PDT (4:32 p.m. EDT / 2032 UTC).