Live coverage: Rocket Lab back in action with twilight launch in New Zealand

Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket took off from a picturesque commercial launch base in New Zealand on Saturday, U.S. time, on a test flight that delivered three CubeSats into orbit on the company’s first successful satellite deployment.

Watch a video clip of the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage separating and firing its engines to return to Cape Canaveral shortly after liftoff Jan. 7.

On track for launch from Cape Canaveral in July, NASA’s Perseverance rover has been secured to its rocket-powered descent stage and back shell, part of the protective shield that will safeguard the robot when it arrives at Mars next year.