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.

Ground crews transferred an Antares rocket out of an assembly building to a launch pad on Virginia’s Eastern Shore in a major step before liftoff on Orbital Sciences’ third flight to resupply the International Space Station.

SpaceX’s next Falcon 9 rocket rolled out of its hangar and up the ramp to launch pad 39A Sunday in preparation for liftoff on a two-day trek ferrying more than 6,400 pounds of supplies and experiments to the International Space Station.