Live coverage: Three Chinese astronauts return to Earth

NASA is working with the Russian space agency to potentially extend crew stays on the International Space Station, the agency’s acting administrator said last week, as a cushion against expected delays in the development of commercial crew capsules by Boeing and SpaceX.

U.S. and Russian vehicles ferrying crews and cargo will continue traveling to and from the International Space Station this month, sustaining the orbiting lab in its 20th year of continuous human occupation amid an escalating pandemic on Earth.

The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from California at 10:30 a.m. local time (1:30 p.m. EST; 1830 GMT) today to deliver the sharp-eyed WorldView 4 satellite into space to collect best-in-the-industry, 31-centimeter-resolution commercial imagery for retail. Follow the mission in our live journal.