Watch the astronauts give a tour of their new Crew Dragon spacecraft

Launching the Wideband Global SATCOM 9 satellite purchased by allied nations in collaboration with the U.S. military’s worldwide communications network, a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket thundered away from Cape Canaveral at 8:18 p.m. EDT (0018 GMT).

NASA officials and lawmakers warned Wednesday that U.S. astronauts will continue riding to the International Space Station aboard Russian spacecraft longer than planned if a spending plan under consideration in the Senate becomes law.

A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying three space station crew members hurtled back to Earth Thursday, completing a fiery plunge back through the atmosphere before settling to a frigid touchdown on the snowy steppe of Kazakhstan to close out a 139-day mission.