Falcon 9 launches TESS as seen from KSC Press Site (members only)

A refrigerator-sized satellite soared into orbit aboard an air-launched Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket Thursday night over the Atlantic Ocean, finally setting off on a $252 million mission to probe the dynamic boundary region where space and Earth’s atmosphere meet.

SpaceX’s next Falcon 9 rocket launch is set for no earlier than May 5, sources said Friday, with a Japanese television broadcasting satellite heading to orbit from Cape Canaveral.

Blue Origin, SpaceX and Virgin Galactic representatives all called for improvements to the regulatory framework that governs spaceflight operations during a Senate subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023.