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

The mission came a little more than 12 hours after SpaceX performed a static fire test of the rocket Monday night. Liftoff of the Starlink 10-5 mission happened at 9:20 a.m. EDT (1320 UTC).

The next test of a critical safety system on SpaceX’s human-rated Dragon spaceship will be delayed, likely until some time next year, as the company adjusts the development schedule for the new commercial crew capsule designed to take astronauts to the International Space Station.

Repair crews in Virginia have restored the Antares booster’s launch pad — damaged in an explosive rocket crash nearly one year ago — to flight-ready status as the Orbital ATK launcher moves toward a return-to-flight in 2016.