Live coverage: Two satellites lift off aboard Ariane 5

A Delta 2 rocket has lifted off from California’s Central Coast on Saturday with a NASA environmental satellite designed to improve flood and drought forecasts, map moisture in Earth’s soils, and track the planet’s water cycle.

A Soyuz rocket took off from French Guiana on Friday with Hispasat 36W-1, a communications satellite designed to connect Latin America and Europe with video, data and cellular phone services.

A European Ariane 5 rocket sat poised for liftoff on a tropical launch pad Thursday nestled in the edge of the Amazon rainforest of South America.