Live coverage: Japanese cargo craft arrives at space station

Japanese engineers aim to launch an upgraded Epsilon booster Tuesday with a satellite to study the origins of powerful geomagnetic storms, phenomena that trigger picturesque polar auroras but could disrupt communications and and damage electric grids.

The two structural elements of Orbital ATK’s OA-7 Cygnus space freighter were delivered to Kennedy Space Center for final assembly, the packing of cargo and launch to the International Space Station.

A solid-fueled Vega rocket blasted off from French Guiana on Thursday with five Earth observation satellites for Peru and the Google subsidiary Terra Bella. The four-stage booster fired away from its tropical launch pad right on time at 9:43 p.m. EDT (0143 GMT Friday).