Live coverage: Japan’s H-2A rocket blasts off on first commercial flight

After making landfall in South Florida, Hurricane Irma moved north over the state before losing strength and being downgraded to a tropical storm. NASA safety officials report the Kennedy Space Center lost electricity and water pressure during the storm, but a team of emergency personnel at the spaceport is safe.

Ground teams have approved plans for Japan’s Hayabusa 2 sample return mission to briefly land on asteroid Ryugu for the second time July 11, aiming for a targeted touch-and-go to gather material exposed by an explosive impactor released by the robot explorer in April.

Nearly a decade after Orbcomm raised the money to pay for a second-generation satellite fleet to drastically expand the company’s reach, the $230 million program is finally primed for completion after Monday’s launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral.