Live coverage of the countdown and launch of an Ariane 5 rocket with the EchoStar 18 and BRIsat communications satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
Falcon 9
Falcon 9 rocket ready for all-important return to service Saturday
SpaceX rolled a fully-assembled Falcon 9 booster out of its hangar and lifted it on top of a launch pad Friday for the first time since an explosion grounded the commercial rocket last year, setting the stage for a one-second launch window Saturday to take off from California’s Central Coast and deploy the first 10 satellites in orbit for a $3 billion upgrade to Iridium’s globe-spanning message relay network.
Mission Reports
Live coverage: Three-man crew, including first UAE astronaut, lands in Kazakhstan
A Russian commander, his NASA co-pilot and the first Emirati to fly in space returned to Earth Thursday with a fiery re-entry inside the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft on the way to an on-target parachute-assisted landing in Kazakhstan at 6:59 a.m. EDT (1059 GMT), a few hours after undocking from the International Space Station.