Live coverage of SpaceX’s preparations for the next Falcon 9 rocket launch from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The mission will launch SpaceX’s fifth batch of Starlink broadband satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter.
Mission Reports
Hints of life renew interest in Venus, and a private mission could lead the way
The announcement Monday of the discovery of phosphine gas in the clouds of Venus — an indicator of possible life — has raised hopes among scientists for new robotic missions to renew exploration of Earth’s planetary neighbor. If Rocket Lab founder Peter Beck gets his way, a privately-funded mission could get the next crack at probing Venus’s soupy atmosphere.
