SpaceX's Mars test rocket makes 1st flight, landing upright

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX launched a prototype of its Mars rocketship hundreds of feet into the air, then landed it upright in a successful test flight. The flight lasted barely 45 seconds and reached just 500 feet (150 meters) Tuesday night at the southeastern tip of Texas near Brownsville, but...

Astronauts: SpaceX Dragon capsule 'came alive' on descent

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The astronauts on SpaceX’s first crew flight said Tuesday that their Dragon capsule “came alive” and sounded like a beast as it descended through the atmosphere to a smooth splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. Two days after returning from the International...

Shops closed, beaches deserted as Isaias nears the Carolinas

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) — Coastal shops and restaurants closed early, power began to flicker at oceanfront hotels and even the most adventurous of beachgoers abandoned the sand Monday night as newly restrengthened Hurricane Isaias sped toward the Carolinas. The U.S. National Hurricane Center warned...

AP mistakenly sends photo meant to illustrate SpaceX return

NEW YORK (AP) — The Associated Press mistakenly ran a year-old photograph that had been taken during a NASA test mission to depict Sunday's splashdown of two astronauts returning from the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX capsule. The news service on Monday deleted the photo from its system and...

SpaceX capsule and NASA crew make 1st splashdown in 45 years

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Two NASA astronauts returned to Earth on Sunday in a dramatic, retro-style splashdown, their capsule parachuting into the Gulf of Mexico to close out an unprecedented test flight by Elon Musk's SpaceX company. It was the first splashdown by U.S. astronauts in 45 years, with the...

Virgin Orbit determines cause of rocket launch failure

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Virgin Orbit said Monday it has determined what caused the failure of its debut rocket launch and is working toward a second flight that will carry small satellites for NASA. The Long Beach, California, company founded by Richard Branson, experienced a premature shutdown of its...

Isaias strengthens slightly as it crawls up Florida coast

VERO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Bands of heavy rain from Isaias lashed Florida's east coast Sunday, with the tropical storm strengthening slightly and forecast to be near hurricane strength by the time it reaches the Carolinas. Officials dealing with surging cases of the coronavirus in Florida kept a close watch...

SpaceX capsule with two NASA astronauts makes dramatic splashdown in Gulf of Mexico to end test flight

Isaias weakens; may strengthen on path to virus-hit Florida

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Isaias snapped trees and knocked out power as it blew through the Bahamas on Saturday and churned toward the Florida coast, threatening to complicate efforts to contain the coronavirus in places were cases are surging. Isaias weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm...

NASA astronauts aim for Florida coast to end SpaceX flight

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The first astronauts launched by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company departed the International Space Station on Saturday night for the final and most important part of their test flight: returning to Earth with a rare splashdown. NASA’s Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken bid...