Video: Falcon 9 fires up engines for static fire test (members only)

Astronauts on the International Space Station are eager to begin unpacking 2.6 tons of supplies and experiments — including a package of belated Christmas gifts — after delivery aboard a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule Monday.

Launch companies and U.S. Space Force range officials at Cape Canaveral are reassessing long-standing weather rules, looking at beefing up rocket defenses against lightning, and considering strategies to prepare for two different launch windows on a given day to guard against weather delays, something SpaceX may demonstrate with a Falcon 9 launch early Thursday.

Relive all of the steps to stack the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket at Cape Canaveral’s Vertical Integration Facility for the Morelos 3 satellite deployment mission.