Watch conditions at Kennedy Space Center during Tropical Storm Isaias

NASA announced Tuesday it has awarded SpaceX a $331 million contract to launch the first two pieces of the Gateway lunar outpost in 2024 using a modified version of the Falcon Heavy rocket to hurl the massive core of the deep space station toward the moon.

SpaceX’s first upgraded Cargo Dragon spaceship departed the International Space Station Tuesday morning with more than 4,400 pounds of research specimens and other equipment, heading for splashdown Wednesday night in the Gulf of Mexico off the west coast of Florida.

NASA will hand over control of the Kennedy Space Center’s disused space shuttle landing strip to the state of Florida on June 22 in a major step toward repurposing the three-mile-long runway for future spacecraft, officials said Monday.