Live coverage: Vega rocket launches with LISA Pathfinder

A Soyuz rocket launched Friday with four commercial satellites to expand broadband Internet coverage in remote parts of the world, climbing into orbit from the Guiana Space Center positioned on the northeastern shore of South America.

A pair of innovative satellites for ViaSat and Eutelsat, valued at approximately $800 million, are scheduled to lift off Thursday on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana, hauling the heaviest and costliest commercial payload ever launched.

A previously-flown Falcon 9 booster blasted off Friday from Vandenberg Air Force Base on California’s Central Coast with 10 new-generation communications satellites for Iridium. Launch occurred 8:27 p.m. EST (5:27 p.m. PST; 0127 GMT).