Live coverage: SpaceX launches NRO payload, lands booster at Cape Canaveral

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Saturday that China is failing to meet “responsible standards” on space debris after a massive Long March rocket stage fell back to Earth over the Indian Ocean in an uncontrolled re-entry that is likely to be repeated with additional launches next year.

Picking up where they left off last week, two space station astronauts ventured back outside the outpost Wednesday to continue the replacement of aging batteries in the lab’s solar power system. Two more spacewalks later this month should complete the multi-year project.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket roars away from launch complex 41 at Cape Canaveral carrying a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office.