On Aug. 14, 2017, a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft was launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. It was a commercial resupply mission delivering supplies to the International Space Station. Four days later, the agency’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-M lifted off on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
NASA’s Perseverance rover is part of the agency’s Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet. Lift off is scheduled for 7:50 a.m. EDT, July 30, 2020 from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Mars Perseverance mission goals include answering questions about the potential for life on the Red Planet.
On Feb. 9, 2020, the European Space Agency and NASA launched the Solar Orbiter spacecraft to gain a better understanding of how the Sun influences life on Earth. Additionally, it will provide crucial information on the effects the Sun may have on astronauts as they travel to the Moon and Mars as part of NASA’s Artemis Program.
On Dec. 20, 2019 at 6:36 a.m. EST, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner will liftoff atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The unpiloted Orbital Flight Test to the International Space Station will be the first for the company’s spacecraft as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.