Live coverage of the Expedition 55 mission on the International Space Station. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
Mission Reports
Live coverage: Europe’s next environmental sentinel lifts off
A European environmental satellite designed to monitor Earth’s oceans, lakes and vegetation lifted off Wednesday aboard a modified Russian ballistic missile originally built to carry nuclear warheads. The mission launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome around 500 miles north of Moscow at 1757:51 GMT (1:57:51 p.m. EDT).
Falcon 9
Falcon 9 rocket fires engines in hold-down test for station resupply launch
SpaceX ran through countdown and fueling procedures with a Falcon 9 rocket at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday, culminating in ignition of the booster’s nine first stage Merlin engines in a customary check of the launcher’s readiness before liftoff Thursday with a Dragon supply ship for the International Space Station.
Mission Reports
SpaceX will trigger an intentional rocket failure to prove crew capsule’s safety
SpaceX will sacrifice a Falcon 9 rocket Sunday in a fiery test a minute-and-a-half after liftoff from Florida’s Space Coast to prove the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft can safely push astronauts away from a failing launch vehicle, simulating a daring maneuver that would only be attempted on a piloted mission during an in-flight emergency.