Live coverage: Vega rocket launches with LISA Pathfinder

A Delta 2 rocket has lifted off from California’s Central Coast on Saturday with a NASA environmental satellite designed to improve flood and drought forecasts, map moisture in Earth’s soils, and track the planet’s water cycle.

Two astronauts working outside the International Space Station Wednesday installed a European Space Agency data relay antenna and connected four of six cables to partially power a new ESA experiment platform. They also removed two solar array handling fixtures to clear the way for a future power system upgrade.

Arianespace has postponed this week’s launch of an Ariane 5 rocket with two European communications satellites to replace a faulty fluid connector between the launcher and its mobile launch platform, officials said Tuesday.