Live coverage: New Horizons flyby target comes into focus

NASA has shut down a spacecraft that measured the amount of solar energy entering Earth’s atmosphere for 17 years, more than three times the mission’s original design life.

The launch continues SpaceX’s advancement of the rocket, which is key not only to its ambitions, but also to NASA’s Artemis program. Liftoff from Starbase is set for 7 a.m. CDT (1200 UTC), the start of a 30-minute launch window.

A SpaceX Dragon capsule is wrapping up a month-long mission Saturday. The spaceship departed the International Space Station at 9:23 a.m. EDT (1323 GMT), and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at approximately 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) with nearly two tons of experiment specimens and hardware, including a habitat of mice and Robonaut 2, an experimental humanoid robot in need of repairs.