Live coverage: Intelsat’s first “Epic” satellite in orbit after Ariane 5 launch

A communications satellite to broadcast high-speed Internet to remote parts of Australia and a new platform to beam television and multimedia programming across India are fastened to the top of an Ariane 5 rocket for launch Wednesday.

The 100th flight by United Launch Alliance took off Friday for deployment of a sophisticated geomobile communications satellite to bridge the digital divide in Mexico while extending the rocket company’s unparalleled record of success in launching $80 billion in space assets.

SpaceX rolled out a Falcon 9 rocket to launch pad 39A early Tuesday for a prelaunch hotfire test before this weekend’s liftoff with a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office, the U.S. government spy satellite agency. The static fire test was completed at 3:02 p.m. (1902 GMT).