Snapshots: Soyuz takes off

A Chinese Long March 4C rocket failed to place its top secret military payload into orbit Wednesday after a launch from the Taiyuan space base southwest of Beijing, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.

A 139-foot-tall Antares rocket is slated for a predawn launch Monday from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, carrying a Cygnus supply ship heading for the International Space Station.

A hefty European-built satellite destined to broadcast high-definition television to the Middle East and a U.S.-made relay station programmed to serve Latin America and North Atlantic air routes soared into space Thursday aboard an Ariane 5 rocket.