Photos: Atlas 5 rocket aims for International Space Station

On the eve of the Iridium’s fifth launch with SpaceX, the mobile telecom satellite operator’s chief executive says he no longer waits for SpaceX’s rockets to be ready. Instead, Iridium’s satellite team is racing to keep pace churning spacecraft off their assembly line.

Blasting off shortly before sunset in French Guiana, an Ariane 5 rocket delivered two communications satellites to orbit Wednesday for the Indian space agency and companies based in Greece and the United Kingdom.

In a significant milestone preparing for liftoff of the world’s most powerful rocket, SpaceX test-fired 31 of the booster’s 33 methane-fueled engines Thursday in South Texas as the company eyes a launch attempt as soon as March.