Q&A with Keith Gendreau, principal investigator of the first X-ray space communications experiment (members only)

A Falcon 9 rocket was raised into position at pad 39A on Sunday for a customary test firing of its nine first stage Merlin engines. The rocket is being readied for a launch Thursday with a Dragon capsule carrying supplies to the International Space Station.

These photos captured on the eve of launch show a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket standing on its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, ready for blastoff on the U.S. Air Force’s AFSPC 11 mission with three satellites on-board.

Ten new satellites for Iridium’s $3 billion next-generation communications network are set for launch Monday from California’s Central Coast aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.