Live coverage: Ariane 5 successful in middle-of-the-night launch

Check out photos of a solid-fueled Vega launcher as it zipped away from its launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana, with Europe’s IXV mission Wednesday.

The European Space Agency’s LISA Pathfinder spacecraft, destined to test the concept of gravitational wave detection a million miles from Earth, is nearly ready for launch Dec. 2.

Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with the third set of 10 next-generation satellites for Iridium’s voice and data relay fleet.