Pence misses launch but treated to new SpaceX crew capsule

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence missed seeing a SpaceX rocket soar. But he still got to view the company's new crew capsule, designed to carry astronauts to the International Space Station as soon as next year. Pence joined members of the Air Force at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on...

Launch of next generation GPS satellite postponed for 1 day

DENVER (AP) — The launch of a new GPS satellite was postponed for one day Tuesday because of an unspecified problem with the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will put the satellite in orbit. Liftoff was rescheduled for Wednesday at Cape Canaveral, Florida. SpaceX said Tuesday's launch was scratched because of...

NASA's 1st flight to moon, Apollo 8, marks 50th anniversary

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Fifty years ago on Christmas Eve, a tumultuous year of assassinations, riots and war drew to a close in heroic and hopeful fashion with the three Apollo 8 astronauts reading from the Book of Genesis on live TV as they orbited the moon. To this day, that 1968 mission is...

Elon Musk to unveil underground tunnel, transport cars

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk is set to unveil an underground transportation tunnel on Tuesday that could move people faster than subways. Musk also plans to show off the autonomous cars that will carry people through the test tunnel, which runs about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) under the...

First private Israeli lunar mission will launch in February

YEHUD, Israel (AP) — An Israeli nonprofit on Monday said it has pushed back the launch of what it hopes will be the first private spacecraft to land on the moon until February. Officials from SpaceIL and its project partner, the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, announced that the landing craft,...

NASA moves liquid hydrogen tank to Huntsville for testing

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — NASA is moving a massive liquid hydrogen tank to Huntsville, Alabama, for testing as part of its plans to eventually return to the moon. The 149-foot-long tank is part of the Space Launch System. The version moved Friday from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans is a test...

Virgin Galactic tourism rocket ship reaches space in test

MOJAVE, Calif. (AP) — Virgin Galactic's tourism spaceship climbed more than 50 miles high above California's Mojave Desert on Thursday, reaching for the first time what the company considers the boundary of space. The rocket ship hit an altitude of 51 miles (82 kilometers) before beginning its gliding...

The Latest: Tourism rocket ship reaches space on test flight

MOJAVE, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on a test flight of Virgin Atlantic's space tourism rocket ship (all times local): 8 a.m. Virgin Galactic says its tourism spaceship has climbed more than 50 miles high, which the company considers the boundary of space. Virgin Space Ship Unity was released from a carrier...

Virgin Galactic says its tourism spaceship has climbed more than 50 miles high, the threshold of space

Photos from Japan space rovers show rocky asteroid surface

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's space agency says more than 200 photos taken by two small rovers on an asteroid show no signs of a smooth area for the planned touchdown of a spacecraft early next year. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said Thursday the two solar-powered rovers have become inactive and are...