Q&A with George Ricker, principal investigator for the TESS mission (members only)

Two NASA astronauts, a Japanese flier and a Russian cosmonaut plunged back to Earth Saturday, safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego to wrap up a five-month mission.

SpaceX’s senior director of satellite engineering said following regulatory approval, the DTC constellation will allow texting at the onset and data usage beginning in 2025. Liftoff of the Starlink 12-1 mission from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is set for 5:02 a.m. EST (1002 UTC).

Hours after launching a batch of cargo and provisions to the International Space Station on Tuesday, SpaceX ground teams wheeled another Falcon 9 rocket into the hangar at Cape Canaveral for a commercial satellite launch set for April 27.