Live coverage: Ariane 5 blasts off on commercial flight

A European Vega rocket took off Tuesday from a tropical launch pad in South America with Mohammed VI-A, a Moroccan spy satellite built in France.

Arianespace chief executive Stéphane Israël discussed his company’s outlook with Spaceflight Now, touching on the light-class Vega rocket’s business prospects, the launch manifest in 2016, Arianespace’s view of innovation in the launch market, and his plans to compete in the next decade.

An Indian astronomical observatory rocketed into orbit Monday to study black holes and neutron stars — the compact, powerful remnants of exploded stars — in a five-year mission lauded as a milestone in India’s space program.