Mission Reports

Live coverage: Rocket Lab launches with NRO payload

Rocket Lab launched a mission for the National Reconnaissance Office at 1 a.m. EDT (0500 GMT) Thursday, following delays to update software on the payload and to wait for better weather. Rocket Lab’s Electron launcher lifted off from New Zealand with a small classified payload for the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency.

Mission Reports

Re-entry of large Chinese rocket booster spotted over Borneo

The 22-ton core stage of a Chinese rocket fell back to Earth Saturday, the third time in two years China has allowed such a large booster to re-enter the atmosphere uncontrolled. There were no immediate reports of wreckage or damage on the ground. Space debris experts said the unguided re-entry posed a low but avoidable risk to the world’s population.