Live views of launch pad 39A (members only)

Backed by a fresh capital infusion and regulatory rights to a valued slice of satellite communications spectrum, the space-based Internet company OneWeb has contracted with Arianespace and Virgin Galactic to deploy hundreds of refrigerator-sized spacecraft around Earth.

Wrapping up a nine-day mission, four commercial astronauts on Axiom Space’s second flight to the International Space Station departed the orbiting research complex at 11:05 a.m. EDT (1505 UTC) Tuesday. The crew rode back to Earth inside a SpaceX Dragon crew capsule for splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico at 11:04 p.m. EDT (0304 UTC).

Launch companies and U.S. Space Force range officials at Cape Canaveral are reassessing long-standing weather rules, looking at beefing up rocket defenses against lightning, and considering strategies to prepare for two different launch windows on a given day to guard against weather delays, something SpaceX may demonstrate with a Falcon 9 launch early Thursday.