USAF and SpaceX are modifying the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement signed two years ago to outline what has become the contentious process to certify the Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket for use in launching national security payloads.

"We are discovering all kinds of exotic planets, worlds that have oceans of molten rock, worlds that have not one but two stars rising in the East and setting in the West," said Natalie Batalha, Kepler mission scientist.

During a March 17 luncheon Shotwell touched on developments underway at the Hawthorne, California-based company.

After eyeing a low-cost launch opportunity on a Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) rocket, Airbus Defense and Space has selected an Ariane 5 to lift its second European Data Relay System (EDRS) spacecraft to geostationary orbit in the first quarter of 2017.

"What's especially surprising about the aurora we saw is how deep in the atmosphere it occurs," said Arnaud Stiepen, a University of Colorado researcher.

Russia plans to test its Angara rocket in 2016 with a real payload. The heavy lifter is scheduled to enter service in 2021 and replace the Proton launcher in 2025.

Modifications to the Falcon 9 v1.1 will lead to a new design for the SpaceX Falcon Heavy.

Sierra Nevada Corp. will use folding wings and a pressurized/unpressurized “cargo trailer” with the Dream Chaser Cargo System it has entered in NASA’s second-round competition for unmanned vehicles to deliver cargo to the International Space Station.