Q&A with George Ricker, principal investigator for the TESS mission (members only)

Northrop Grumman concluded its purchase of Orbital ATK on Wednesday, with the absorption of launch vehicle developer, satellite manufacturer, and munitions supplier as a new business unit named Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems.

Five European satellites, including a Italian radar surveillance craft and an ESA exoplanet probe, lifted off Wednesday at 0854 GMT (3:54 a.m. EST) from French Guiana aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket. A launch attempt Tuesday was scrubbed due to a software concern with the launch vehicle.

A multipurpose communications satellite owned by a South Korean telecom company is set for liftoff Monday from Florida’s Space Coast aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster, and forecasters predict near-ideal conditions for a rocket launch.