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

A Russian Soyuz rocket rolled out to a launch pad in Kazakhstan early Thursday in preparation for liftoff Saturday with a Russian commander, Italian flight engineer and U.S. astronaut heading for the International Space Station.

This is the first of three planned Falcon 9 missions Amazon booked for its internet relay satellites. Liftoff is scheduled for 2:30 a.m. EDT (0630 UTC) from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Bound for the International Space Station with a max load of fresh supplies, a commercially-operated cargo ship was mounted atop its booster rocket today for liftoff from Cape Canaveral on March 22.