Live coverage: Vega rocket launches with LISA Pathfinder

Japan’s Astro-H mission, an X-ray astronomy observatory designed to shed light on black holes and the unseen structure of the universe, lifted off aboard an H-2A rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center at 0845 GMT (3:45 a.m. EST) Wednesday.

The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off Thursday night at 10:44 p.m. EDT (0244 GMT) with NASA’s four formation-flying MMS satellites.

A European Ariane 5 rocket took off on its first flight of the year Wednesday with a new-generation communications satellite for Intelsat, lighting up the sky over its French Guiana launch base as it arced over the Atlantic Ocean.