Live coverage: Two satellites lift off aboard Ariane 5

A late afternoon launch from French Guiana on Wednesday sent two communications satellites into orbit aboard a European Ariane 5 rocket for the Australian and Indian governments, and imagery recorded the powerful booster blasting off into a clear sky over the tropical space base.

SpaceX’s Dragon supply ship returned to to Earth on Sunday with more than 3,800 pounds of NASA cargo, research specimens and other hardware. The commercial capsule was released from the International Space Station’s robotic arm at 4:40 a.m. EDT (0840 GMT), and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean west of Baja California occurred at approximately 10:15 a.m. EDT (1415 GMT).

Making its third try after back-to-back aborts, a Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched the commercial Intelsat 35e communications satellite Wednesday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff from launch pad 39A occurred at 7:38 p.m. EDT (2338 GMT).