Snapshots from Atlas 5 launch

More testing will be done on both the thrusters on the spacecraft’s aft section. The Starliner crew will also repeat some previously conducted test activities, like the ‘safe haven’ protocol.

Two panels of managers and scientists presented details of SpaceX’s 16th operational resupply flight to the International Space Station on the eve of its launch aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral.

The escalating wildfire at Vandenberg Air Force Base grew even larger Monday despite the round-the-clock efforts of firefighters trying to bring the blaze under control before it threatens United Launch Alliance and SpaceX launch pads used by Atlas 5, Delta 4 and Falcon 9 rockets.