Live coverage: Cygnus cargo freighter departs space station

The first launch of Boeing’s Starliner space capsule aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket has been delayed to Dec. 19, officials announced Tuesday.

Lending a helping hand to resume the stalled U.S. supply chain to the International Space Station, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will send a commercial Cygnus cargo craft in pursuit of the outpost Thursday.

Europe’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and Schiaparelli lander arrived at Mars Wednesday, with the orbiter safely captured by Martian gravity after a critical engine firing. The lander’s fate is unknown after mission control lost contact just before touchdown.