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

Astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir carried out history’s first all-female spacewalk Friday, floating outside the International Space Station and successfully installing a 230-pound replacement battery charger in the lab’s solar power system. The historic excursion was carried out in a blaze of public interest that rose all the way to the White House.

The Starlink 10-27 mission was the 280th orbital launch for SpaceX from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at 6:53 a.m. EDT (1053 UTC).

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral on Monday, heading due east over the Atlantic Ocean to deliver the JCSAT 18/Kacific 1 communications satellite into orbit around 33 minutes later.