Live coverage: Ariane 5 blasts off with two Intelsat satellites

The launch of two NASA astronauts dealt with two previous scrubs due to a valve issue on the Atlas 5 rocket and then a ground system issue at the launchpad. Liftoff happened at 10:52 a.m. EDT (1452 UTC) on Wednesday, June 5.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket launched at 5:02 p.m. EST (2202 GMT) Thursday from Cape Canaveral with NOAA’s GOES-S weather satellite, the second in a series of upgraded observatories destined to cover the western United States and the Pacific Ocean.

Nearly a decade after Orbcomm raised the money to pay for a second-generation satellite fleet to drastically expand the company’s reach, the $230 million program is finally primed for completion after Monday’s launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral.