Early image of Ultima Thule revealed, providing hints on its shape

A video camera mounted aboard the United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket beamed back remarkable views of NASA’s SMAP spacecraft being deployed into orbit and opening its solar panels Saturday.

Nearly a decade after launching from Cape Canaveral on a planet-hunting quest that has netted 2,650 new confirmed worlds beyond our solar system, NASA’s Kepler telescope has paused its observations after on-board sensors detected it is running low on fuel.

The next-to-last Delta 2 rocket is being stacked at its California launch site to take flight in January to put a civilian weather satellite into polar orbit.