Q&A with Bruce Banerdt, principal investigator on NASA’s InSight mission (members only)

A Russian Soyuz rocket blasted off and shot into orbit Wednesday, carrying a Russian cosmonaut and two NASA astronauts, all veteran space fliers, on a two-day flight to the International Space Station.

Ready for a journey into the sun’s enigmatic, scorching corona, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has been encapsulated inside the nose cone of its Delta 4-Heavy rocket for liftoff Saturday.

Astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken donned their SpaceX-made launch and entry flight suits Saturday and rode to pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in a final dress rehearsal before launch day.