Photos: Delta 4 lights up the sky for night owl launch

Five commercial Chinese satellites carrying video and hyperspectral imaging sensors took off Thursday aboard a Long March 11 booster.

Engineers plan to test small modifications to a payload shroud on a European Ariane 5 rocket launch Friday from French Guiana, gathering data on changes introduced to meet stringent criteria for the launch of the $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope in late 2021.

A Chinese Long March 4B rocket successfully launched two Tianhui satellites Monday to conduct land surveys, mapping and scientific experiments in space, according to reports from state-run media.