Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with the Jason 3 ocean altimetry mission. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
Mission Reports
Station-bound instrument to open new chapter in the story of cosmic rays
Physicists are gearing up to send a re-engineered science instrument originally designed for lofty balloon flights high in Earth’s atmosphere to the International Space Station next week to broaden their knowledge of cosmic rays, subatomic particles traveling on intergalactic routes that could hold the key to unlocking mysteries about supernovas, black holes, pulsars and dark matter.