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

After assessing any damage to the spaceport caused by Hurricane Dorian as it narrowly missed Florida’s east coast, NASA says the Kennedy Space Center will reopen for normal operations Friday. Teams rolled the Space Launch System’s mobile launch platform from pad 39B back into the cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building last week for safekeeping during the storm.

A late afternoon launch from French Guiana on Wednesday sent two communications satellites into orbit aboard a European Ariane 5 rocket for the Australian and Indian governments, and imagery recorded the powerful booster blasting off into a clear sky over the tropical space base.

A Falcon 9 rocket blasted off into a brilliant morning sky over the Sunshine State on Wednesday, and these photos show the kerosene-fueled launcher climbing away from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad.