Live coverage: Vega rocket deploys second Sentinel satellite

Rocket Lab’s first mission since a failed launch in early July took off at 11:05 p.m. EDT Sunday (0305 GMT Monday) from New Zealand. The small satellite launcher carried into orbit a commercial radar remote sensing spacecraft for Capella Space.

Arianespace has split its third order of Vega rockets from Italy’s Avio between old and new versions of the solid-fueled booster, as officials prepare to build a final batch of around 18 Ariane 5 rockets before switching to the next-generation Ariane 6 in the early 2020s.

A mission to investigate the atmospheres of planets around other stars has been selected by the European Space Agency for launch in the late 2020s, officials announced this week.