Live coverage: Atlas 5 blasts off with Navy satellite

An Ariane 5 rocket launched from French Guiana at 2150 GMT (5:50 p.m. EDT) Thursday with a pair of European-built communications satellites for the Brazilian government and KTsat, a South Korean telecom operator. Liftoff was delayed more than one hour to resolve a problem with ground equipment.

After a brief delay to chase away a boat from offshore waters, Japan’s H-2A rocket launched at 0650 GMT (1:50 a.m. EST) with the Telstar 12 Vantage telecom satellite. The launch from marks the first flight of an H-2A rocket with an upgraded upper stage, and the launcher’s first dedicated commercial mission.

An automated logistics vehicle packed with nearly five tons of supplies reached the International Space Station on Monday after a laser-guided rendezvous culminating with grapple of the HTV cargo craft by the station’s robotic arm at 1028 GMT (6:28 a.m. EDT).