Live coverage: Vega rocket launches with LISA Pathfinder

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.

In a rapid-fire crew rotation, a Russian cosmonaut, a NASA astronaut and an Italian flier plan to close out a 139-day mission aboard the International Space Station with a fiery plunge back to the frigid steppe of Kazakhstan aboard their Soyuz MS-05 spacecraft early Thursday.

The European Space Agency (ESA) will soon focus on the Vega-C rocket as its small launch vehicle. Liftoff happened Wednesday, Sept. 4, at 10:50 p.m. GFT (9:50 p.m. EDT, 0150 UTC).