Live coverage: Ariane 5 rocket deploys satellites for Australia, India

SpaceX plans as many as 24 launches next year to build out the company’s Starlink network to provide broadband Internet service from space, following up to four more Starlink missions before the end of this year, according to SpaceX’s chief operating officer.

The London-based mobile telecom provider Inmarsat and the Brazilian satellite operator Embratel Star One have selected Arianespace’s Ariane 5 rocket to launch two spacecraft from French Guiana in 2019.

SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket at 2 a.m. EDT (0600 GMT) Thursday, two days after high winds prevented liftoff. The nearly 23-story booster carried the EchoStar 23 communications satellite into orbit from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to provide broadcast television programming across Brazil.