Live coverage: Two satellites blast off on Ariane 5

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.

SpaceX’s launch team loaded liquid propellants into the company’s first upgraded Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket Friday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and the countdown rehearsal culminated in a brief ignition of the launcher’s nine Merlin main engines on the launch pad.

Ground crews returned to work Monday at the Guiana Space Center, a European-run spaceport on the northeastern shore of South America, after protests and a general strike across French Guiana interrupted launch operations for five weeks.