Live coverage: SpaceX Falcon 9 launches

India launched the 40th Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle mission Friday carrying an Earth observation satellite and 30 secondary payloads from 15 nations. Liftoff occurred at 0359 GMT Friday (11:59 p.m. EDT Thursday).

Ax-4 will mark the first time an astronaut from India or Poland visits the International Space Station. The mission will be commanded by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, making her second trip to the ISS on behalf of Axiom Space.

Building on development for NASA’s commercial crew program, Space Adventures announced an agreement Tuesday with SpaceX to fly up to four paying space tourists on a standalone mission aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft in late 2021 or 2022 that could reach an altitude two-to-three times higher than the International Space Station.