Live coverage: Falcon 9 disintegrates after launch

A Falcon 9 launcher bolted into the sky over Florida’s Space Coast on Friday, adding the brilliant orange glare of rocket exhaust to a spectacular sunset as the 229-foot-tall booster propelled the SES 9 communications satellite into orbit to serve the Asia-Pacific with high-definition television programming and connectivity on-the-go.

U.S. and Russian vehicles ferrying crews and cargo will continue traveling to and from the International Space Station this month, sustaining the orbiting lab in its 20th year of continuous human occupation amid an escalating pandemic on Earth.

A Russian Progress supply ship packed with 3.1 tons of cargo and propellant to refuel the International Space Station is set for liftoff Tuesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.