Q&A with Sara Seager, deputy director of science on NASA’s TESS mission (members only)

After several delays to wait for improved weather, SpaceX sent a Falcon 9 rocket into space Saturday from California’s Central Coast with 51 small satellites, payloads, and orbital transfer vehicles from customers around the world.

The mission represents the fifth pair of Boeing-built O3b mPOWER satellites to launch into medium Earth orbit. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Tuesday, July 22, at 5:12 p.m. EDT (2112 UTC).

Speaking with Spaceflight Now on the sidelines of the International Astronautical Congress this week, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine offered his assessment on the status of a budget battle to secure funding for the agency’s Artemis program, which seeks to achieve the next human landing on the moon by the end of 2024.