Photos: Spectacular sunset launch of asteroid mission

A Soyuz-2.1b rocket lifted off at 0541 GMT (1:41 a.m. EDT) Thursday from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East, carrying a new Russian weather satellite and 32 secondary payloads into polar orbit.

A Russian Soyuz rocket and Progress resupply freighter are set for liftoff Monday on an accelerated, less-than-four-hour rendezvous with the International Space Station after last-minute launch scrubs prevented two similar fast-track approach attempts in recent months.

In this time-lapse video, the Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon atop rolls to launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center for the first time on January 3. The rocket was then lifted vertical for a series of fit checks and tests.