Live coverage: Vega rocket launches with LISA Pathfinder

A mission to investigate the atmospheres of planets around other stars has been selected by the European Space Agency for launch in the late 2020s, officials announced this week.

Firing off the launch pad with more than a half-million pounds of thrust, a Vega rocket soared into space Monday night from French Guiana with Europe’s Sentinel 2B environmental satellite.

An Indian rocket lifted off with two British-built Earth-imaging satellites at 1638 GMT (12:38 p.m. EDT) Sunday — one developed with the financial backing of the UK government to demonstrate radar reconnaissance technology, and another destined for use by a commercial imaging company in Asia.