Live coverage: Ariane 5 blasts off with two Intelsat satellites

NASA and Boeing managers have again decided to extend the Starliner crew capsule’s stay at the International Space Station, passing up a June 26 re-entry to allow more time for analysis and testing to make sure helium leaks and thruster failures are fully understood, officials said late Friday.

A Falcon 9 rocket is standing on launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for liftoff Thursday to carry the SES 10 communications satellite into orbit on the first mission SpaceX has attempted to re-fly one of its used boosters.

Five satellites rode a Soyuz booster into orbit Monday from French Guiana, and these spectacular photos from Europe’s tropical spaceport show the legendary rocket’s fiery departure from the edge of the lush Amazon jungle.