Live coverage: Two satellites lift off aboard Ariane 5

An Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle lifted off at 0427 GMT Thursday (11:27 p.m. EST Wednesday) with 31 satellites from nine countries, with most of the smallsats coming from U.S. customers.

While production of rockets and satellites continues across much of the space industry amid the coronavirus pandemic, engineers at several space companies — including SpaceX, Virgin Orbit and Blue Origin — have started working on medical devices and protective equipment in response to shortages in hospitals across the United States.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 11:02 p.m. PDT Tuesday (2:02 a.m. EDT; 0602 UTC Wednesday) with another batch of 52 Starlink internet satellites.