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

SpaceX teams at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California are preparing to launch a Falcon 9 rocket into orbit Monday, powered by a reused first stage booster flying on its third mission, a first for the company as engineers continue chasing a long-term goal of re-flying the same rocket on back-to-back days.

This is the sixth consecutive year of increasing orbital launches from the Sunshine State. Liftoff of the Starlink 6-87 mission from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is scheduled for 10:21 p.m. EST (0321 UTC).

On the eve of launching its first ViaSat 3 internet satellite on a SpaceX rocket, Viasat says it has moved the launch of an identical spacecraft off of Europe’s long-delayed Ariane 6 rocket, and is considering bids from other rocket companies.