Photos: Soyuz dashes away from French Guiana launch pad

Launch crews in French Guiana have mounted an innovative European space plane on top of a solid-fueled Vega launcher for a Feb. 11 suborbital test flight.

Christina Koch, veteran of six spacewalks outside the International Space Station — including the first all-female excursion — will join a Russian commander and an Italian flight engineer for a fiery plunge back to Earth early Thursday, setting a new world record for the longest single flight by a female astronaut.

The 13th and 14th operational members of Europe’s Galileo navigation satellite network are set for liftoff Tuesday aboard a Soyuz rocket from French Guiana. Track the progress of the flight with this timeline of key events.