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

Two pilots aboard Virgin Galactic’s commercial SpaceShipTwo suborbital rocketplane safely landed back in New Mexico Saturday after a “computer communications loss” triggered an abort of the craft’s engine ignition sequence.

Track the progress of the launch and landing of SpaceX’s upgraded Falcon 9 rocket carrying 11 Orbcomm message relay satellites with this timeline of major events in the flight sequence.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk detailed progress on the company’s next-generation Starship program Monday, saying the huge rocket could “probably” attempt its first launch into Earth orbit next year, and adding that the Starship will fly hundreds of missions before SpaceX puts people on-board.