Video: Atlas 5 launch with GOES-S viewed from KSC press site (members only)

A robotic arm extended from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft briefly contacted the rugged surface of asteroid Bennu Tuesday to gobble up pristine samples, a climactic moment in the $1 billion mission to bring asteroid material back to Earth in 2023.

A new satellite joined Russia’s Glonass navigation fleet Saturday with a successful launch on top of a Soyuz rocket into an orbit nearly 12,000 miles above Earth.

SpaceX test-fired a Falcon 9 rocket Saturday at Cape Canaveral, a critical test before liftoff Wednesday with several tons of cargo heading to the International Space Station.