Live coverage: Soyuz crew lands in Kazakhstan

NASA and Northrop Grumman managers at the Kennedy Space Center decided Tuesday to press ahead with final preparations to launch a NASA scientific research satellite early Wednesday aboard an air-launched Pegasus XL rocket off Florida’s east coast.

A SpaceX Cargo Dragon capsule parachuted to an on-target splashdown Wednesday night west of Tampa, returning more than two tons of experiment specimens from the International Space Station, including live rodents and a dozen bottles of space-aged French wine.

The access arm that will be used by astronauts boarding SpaceX’s Crew Dragon space capsule was installed on the gantry at launch complex 39A on August 20, 2018.