Snapshots from Atlas 5 launch

SpaceX tested astronaut slidewire escape baskets and fire suppression capabilities Friday at launch pad 39A in Florida, demonstrating systems that would be activated in the event of an emergency before liftoff of a crewed mission.

On May 26, NASA selected two lunar terrain vehicle providers to create iterative versions of their prior LTV designs that can deploy to the Moon in more timely and cost-effective manner.

The first in NOAA’s new series of polar-orbiting weather satellites has been lifted atop United Launch Alliance’s second-to-last Delta 2 rocket on a launch pad in California, ready for encapsulation and final checkouts ahead of a predawn launch set for Nov. 10.