The first satellite in a new class of ultra-powerful communications satellites for Intelsat lifted off Wednesday aboard the first Ariane 5 flight of the year. Launch from French Guiana occurred at 2320 GMT (6:20 p.m. EST).

Space station commander Chris Cassidy and Robert Behnken floated back outside Tuesday for their fourth spacewalk in less than a month, completing preparations for future upgrades including the eventual installation of an airlock that will allow commercial experiments to be moved into and out of vacuum as required.

An upgraded Soyuz ferry ship, the second in a new series featuring improved avionics, navigation and other systems, glided to a flawless docking with the International Space Station early Friday, bringing three fresh crew members to the outpost and briefly boosting the lab’s crew back to six.