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VideoVideo: Highlights of weekend’s Delta 2 launch
The United Launch Alliance flight highlights reel for the Delta 2 rocket and NASA's SMAP observatory from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Photos: Delta 2 rocket blasts off with SMAP satellite
The United Launch Alliance Delta 2 was launched Saturday at 6:22 a.m. local time with NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
VideoCamera aboard Delta 2 rocket watches SMAP begin life in orbit
A video camera mounted aboard the United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket beamed back remarkable views of NASA's SMAP spacecraft being deployed into orbit and opening its solar panels Saturday.
VideoFull story: Delta 2 rises to occasion with SMAP observatory
The ever-dependable Delta 2 rocket continued its flawless service to NASA and Earth sciences Saturday with the launch of a $916 million environmental probe focused on producing global maps of soil moisture from space.
VideoVideo: Delta 2 blasts off from Vandenberg
NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive satellite blasts off aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket Saturday, launching into orbit on a three-year mission to measure moisture levels in Earth's soils.

SpaceX nears pad abort test for human-rated Dragon capsule
SpaceX is finishing up preparations for a major test of a rocket-powered abort system for the company's new Dragon crew ferry spacecraft, targeting launch from Cape Canaveral in March after a pair of Falcon 9 missions in February.
VideoVideo: Delta 2/SMAP pre-launch news conference
NASA, United Launch Alliance and Air Force officials hold the pre-launch news conference for the Delta 2 rocket with the agency's SMAP environmental satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Jan. 27.

All systems ‘go’ for Delta 2 rocket launch of SMAP
The SMAP observatory to map soil moisture distribution from 426 miles in space and its workhorse booster have been cleared for launch Thursday morning from California.

SpaceX confirms first Crew Dragon flights will return to ocean landings
The human-rated Crew Dragon spacecraft being developed by SpaceX will return to Earth under parachutes for splashdowns in ocean, and not execute helicopter-like propulsive touchdowns on land, a SpaceX official confirmed Monday.

Boeing, SpaceX on track for commercial crew flights to station in 2017
NASA expects to spend some $5 billion underwriting development of commercial spacecraft built by Boeing and SpaceX to carry astronauts to and from the space station, ending reliance on the Russians for crew flights and lowering the average cost per seat to around $58 million.