Live coverage: Proton blasts off on return-to-flight mission

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket ignited its nine kerosene-fueled Merlin engines on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral on Tuesday evening in a critical milestone before liftoff with a commercial Thai communications satellite later in the week.

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket at 1:09 p.m. PDT (4:09 p.m. EDT) Wednesday from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, on a mission hauling 51 more Starlink internet satellites into orbit.

United Launch Alliance ground crews are putting the final touches on a Delta 4 rocket scheduled for blastoff Friday evening from Cape Canaveral with a U.S. Air Force communications satellite.