Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Minotaur-C rocket with six SkySat and four Dove Earth-imaging satellites for Planet. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter.
Falcon 9
Falcon 9 set to launch Inmarsat satellite for in-flight wifi, mobile broadband
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket arrived at launch pad 39A on Florida’s Space Coast on Sunday, a day before liftoff with a powerhouse Inmarsat communications satellite designed to spread broadband beams connecting airline passengers, maritime crews and U.S. and international military units with Internet and data services.
Mission Reports
After “terrific” launch, TESS nears first major orbit-raising burn
NASA’s new planet-hunting TESS observatory completed its first post-launch thruster firing Saturday, setting up for a big boost Wednesday that will send the spacecraft toward the moon for a flyby next month, the next maneuvers in a two-month process to reach the mission’s final science orbit in mid-June.