Live coverage: Two Americans, one Russian back on Earth from space station

A senior Russian politician whose portfolio includes the country’s space program has blamed human error for a Nov. 28 launch failure that led to the destruction of a $45 million weather satellite and 18 secondary payloads, according to multiple news reports.

A French-built communications satellite for Russia’s Gazprom Space Systems launched May 30 is maneuvering toward its final operating location in geostationary orbit using a set of backup thrusters after the spacecraft encountered a problem with its main engine.

NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Drew Morgan completed a 6-hour, 32-minute spacewalk outside the International Space Station Wednesday to help connect a newly-arrived docking port to the orbiting research outpost.