Live coverage: Ariane 5 blasts off on commercial flight

The U.S. military’s highest capacity communications satellite ever built was successfully launched into space tonight, departing Cape Canaveral aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket at 6:53 p.m. EST (2353 GMT).

NASA officials plan to host a news conference at 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT) Monday to update the status of the Perseverance rover’s mission on Mars. During the briefing, NASA is expected to release first-of-its-kind video captured by the mission during its descent to the Red Planet.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 4:18 p.m. EDT (2018 GMT), following a delay of more than an hour to troubleshoot a ground hydraulics controller. The Atlas 5 launched with the U.S. military’s sixth Advanced Extremely High Frequency strategic communications satellite.