The 721,000-pound United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket launches on-time at 2:36 p.m. EDT into a deck of low-hanging clouds over Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station carrying the GPS 2F-9 navigation satellite.
An Ariane 5 rocket took off on a rare morning launch Thursday with four Galileo navigation satellites, the heavy-lifter’s first flight in support of the European positioning and timing fleet. Liftoff from French Guiana occurred at 1306 GMT (8:06 a.m. EST).
A SpaceX-owned Dragon supply ship packed with nearly three tons of cargo arrived at the International Space Station on Monday after a three-day trip from Cape Canaveral. The station’s robotic arm grappled the cargo capsule at 6:54 a.m. EDT (1054 GMT).