Live coverage: Proton fires into space with Eutelsat 9B

A high-throughput communications satellite developed as a joint venture between Telesat and APT Satellite lifted off on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 12:45 a.m. EDT (0445 GMT) Monday from Cape Canaveral, following a delay to wait for storms to clear the Florida spaceport.

A new class of Boeing-built spacecraft will fly into orbit for the first time Sunday aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, combining Boeing’s electric propulsion technology with SpaceX’s bargain launch prices to send up communications satellites at a fraction of the typical cost.

NASA and SpaceX have set April 22 as the target launch date for the next Crew Dragon flight to the International Space Station. The four-person crew will be the first to ride a previously-flown Falcon 9 booster and a reused Dragon spacecraft, and a NASA official said this week that the launcher and capsule are in “really good shape” as refurbishment wraps up at Cape Canaveral.