Q&A with Steve Clarke, deputy associate administrator for exploration in NASA’s science division (members only)

SpaceX completed Friday the last drop test of the Dragon crew capsule’s parachutes before the first launch of astronauts on the human-rated ship May 27, while technicians at Cape Canaveral have mated the spacecraft’s crew module with its unpressurized trunk section.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket blasted off at 6:18 a.m. EDT (1018 GMT).to deploy the Navy’s fourth MUOS satellite that will expand coverage to encompass the globe with mobile communications.

NASA has submitted a draft agreement for government approval that would allow Russian cosmonauts to begin flying to the International Space Station on U.S. crew capsules next year in a no-funds exchanged arrangement with Russia’s space agency. In return, Russia will continue launching U.S. and international astronauts on Soyuz missions.