SpaceX conducts engine test fire for communications satellite launch (members only)

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Saturday that China is failing to meet “responsible standards” on space debris after a massive Long March rocket stage fell back to Earth over the Indian Ocean in an uncontrolled re-entry that is likely to be repeated with additional launches next year.

Falcon Heavy is returning to the hangar and the launch of the USSF-52 mission with the X-37B spaceplane is on hold. A ground issue scrubbed an earlier launch attempt and now required work on the vehicle itself.

NASA’s Perseverance rover will depart Cape Canaveral Thursday on a $2.7 billion mission to Mars, carrying with it the first interplanetary aircraft, sophisticated instruments to search for signs of ancient life, and drill to core samples for eventual return to Earth.