Live coverage: Ariane 5 blasts off with two Intelsat satellites

The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket that will boost NASA’s latest communications relay satellite into space is targeting an Aug. 20 liftoff at 7:56 a.m. EDT (1156 GMT).

European Space Agency Director General Josef Aschbacher said Thursday the Ariane 6 is expected to launch for the first time between June 15 and July 31, 2024. The determination comes on the heels of what ESA determined to be a successful hot fire test of the rocket’s main engine.

Sixty more satellites launched Thursday from the Kennedy Space Center to join SpaceX’s Starlink fleet, adding coverage to the broadband network as it is already “well into the first phase of testing.”