Live coverage: Falcon 9 launches with Thai satellite and first stage lands at sea

SpaceX took a group of reporters and photographers just offshore the Falcon 9 rocket’s landing point Tuesday, a day after the 15-story booster made a pinpoint touchdown after helping send 11 communications satellites into orbit.

A European-built Ariane 5 rocket rolled out to a launch pad in the South American jungle Wednesday with a pair of commercial television broadcast satellites for AT&T and Eutelsat, setting the stage for liftoff Thursday evening.

SpaceX rocket technicians offloaded the first stage of a Falcon 9 rocket from its landing platform Tuesday, beginning a pioneering test campaign to verify its readiness for another launch later this year.