Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket launches, and lands, at Cape Canaveral

SpaceX is targeting Dec. 19 for a critical commercial launch that will double as the debut flight of an upgraded Falcon 9 rocket and the company’s return-to-flight mission after a failure six months ago halted SpaceX’s busy launch manifest.

The booster rocket that will launch NASA’s next-generation Orion space capsule on a two-orbit, four-hour shakedown cruise in December has been rolled to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral.

Two European-made communications satellites destined to serve the Brazilian government and commercial customers across Asia are set to ride an Ariane 5 rocket into orbit Thursday.