Live coverage: Ariane 5 blasts off with two Intelsat satellites

SpaceX rolled out a reused Falcon 9 booster for a hold-down engine firing Wednesday at pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, making the first use of the launch complex since a rocket exploded there in September 2016. The static fire test accomplished Wednesday was a key step in preparations for launch of a space station cargo ship Dec. 12.

Boeing Co. and SpaceX, selected by NASA last month to carry astronauts to the International Space Station, can resume development of their human-rated spacecraft after officials ordered a work stoppage prompted by a protest by Sierra Nevada Corp., the company left out of the contracts.

On the eve of the launch of his country’s first communications satellite on a Falcon 9 rocket, the chief executive of BulgariaSat credited SpaceX’s cost-cutting ways with making space accessible for small nations and money-conscious companies like his own.