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Citizen-funded CubeSat ready to go solar sailing
A shoebox-sized satellite conceived and funded by members of the Planetary Society, an advocacy organization co-founded by Carl Sagan, is fastened to an Atlas 5 rocket for launch Wednesday to test one of the late celebrity-astronomer's futuristic concepts for exploring the cosmos.

Photos: Atlas 5 on the pad for X-37B launch
The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket stands poised for flight with the Air Force's X-37B spaceplane and a batch of CubeSats including the LightSail. The rocket was rolled to Complex 41 on Tuesday in preparation for launch on Wednesday.

Preview: X-37B spaceplane to journey back into space Wednesday
An experiment-carrying, reusable mini space shuttle operated by the U.S. Air Force will be boosted into Earth orbit Wednesday atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.

SpaceX has ‘aggressive’ schedule leading up to crew flights
Staying true to a corporate philosophy that favors high-visibility flight tests, SpaceX plans to continue wringing out major parts of the company's human-rated Dragon spaceship in a sequence of dramatic flights leading up to the capsule's first crewed mission scheduled for 2017.

Photos: X-37B gallery archive
This is a collection of images taken during the three previous flights of the U.S. Air Force's X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle mini space shuttle.
VideoVideos: Launch and landing archive of X-37B mini space shuttle
Relive the launches and landings of the Air Force's X-37B miniature space shuttle on Orbital Test Vehicle missions No.1, No. 2 and No. 3.

ULA, SpaceX face off in landmark Air Force launch competition
The U.S. Air Force has identified the launch of a next-generation GPS navigation satellite for the first in a series of competitive rocket procurements between United Launch Alliance and SpaceX, service officials announced Wednesday.

Brightman steps down from station flight
Soprano and would-be space tourist Sarah Brightman, who was in training for a flight to the International Space Station this fall aboard a Russian Soyuz ferry craft, will not be chasing her dream aloft after all.
VideoVideo: X-37B payload mated to Atlas 5
Already encapsulated in the 18-foot-diameter nose cone, the Air Force's X-37B spaceplane is hoisted atop the Atlas 5 rocket at Cape Canaveral's Vertical Integration Facility.

Photos: Atlas 5 and X-37B mated together for upcoming launch
The Air Force's miniature space shuttle and its ride to orbit have been joined together inside an assembly building at Cape Canaveral in preparation for launch May 20.