Photos: Atlas 5 rocket aims for International Space Station

Another batch of 52 Starlink satellites launched late Tuesday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, on the way to join SpaceX’s fleet of more than 4,000 spacecraft beaming broadband signals around the world.

A Russian Soyuz rocket lifted off Friday from French Guiana with four broadband satellites for the O3b network, which provides high-speed connectivity to developing countries, ships and other customers who lack a reliable Internet link.

A commercial supply ship owned and operated by Orbital ATK departed the International Space Station on Friday, heading for a destructive re-entry over the Pacific Ocean with more than 1.5 tons of trash. The station’s robotic arm released Cygnus at 1226 GMT (7:26 a.m. EST).