Live coverage: SpaceX supply ship returns to Earth

A solid-fueled Vega rocket blasted off from French Guiana on Thursday with five Earth observation satellites for Peru and the Google subsidiary Terra Bella. The four-stage booster fired away from its tropical launch pad right on time at 9:43 p.m. EDT (0143 GMT Friday).

The Russian Progress 64P autonomous cargo ship docked to the International Space Station on Monday and the commercial SpaceX Dragon CRS 9 vessel was captured by the station’s robotic arm and berthed to the outpost on Wednesday.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is awaiting liftoff from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad as soon as Tuesday after three scrubs caused by propellant loading problems and a boat that strayed into restricted waters in the Atlantic Ocean.