Live coverage: 400th Proton rocket takes off with Russian satellite

South Korea’s space agency has signed a contract to launch an Earth observation satellite into orbit in 2020 aboard Russia’s Angara rocket, giving the new booster its first commercial customer, International Launch Services announced Monday.

India’s first dedicated astronomical observatory lifted off at 0430 GMT (12:30 a.m. EDT) Monday aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, riding into a 400-mile-high orbit to begin a five-year mission studying the births and deaths of stars.

Russia launched a Progress resupply mission Tuesday heading for the International Space Station with more than 6,000 pounds of fuel, supplies and experiments to support the lab’s six-person crew, and the automated cargo craft sailed to a smooth link-up with the complex less than six hours later.