Video: Atlas 5 rocket launches space station cargo mission

Three new space station residents blasted off Wednesday on a fast-track six-hour pursuit of the orbiting research complex, kicking off five months in space. The U.S.-Russian-Japanese space crew lifted off at 2102 GMT (5:02 p.m. EDT) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and docking occurred 0245 GMT (10:45 p.m. EDT).

America’s most experienced astronaut says her fully commercial visit to the International Space Station this week is a critical stepping stone on the road to space tourism, private-sector orbital research and development of commercially operated space stations.

Egypt’s first military communications satellite and a powerhouse spacecraft to beam Internet signals to airline passengers and maritime vessels across Europe and the Middle East rocketed into orbit Tuesday on the 250th flight of an Ariane launcher.