KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL —A key flight test for future space missions is set to launch early Friday from Florida's Space Coast.
It will test the performance of the Atlas V rocket, its in-orbit docking with the International Space Station, and the landing of the capsule.
The data collected will be studied to ensure it's safe for future crewed missions.
The Atlas V will launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 6:36 a.m. Friday.
This will be the second rocket launch this week, the first being the successful SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket mission on Monday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The rocket was carrying a communications satellite for Asia and the Pacific.
One problem, though, was the rocket's fairing halves could not be recovered by ships waiting in the Atlantic Ocean.
This is the 13th mission of the year, carrying satellite for a Singapore-based startup andJapanese broadband provider.