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

A Vega rocket lifted off from a tropical launch pad in French Guiana at 1351 GMT (8:51 a.m. EST) Monday with Gokturk 1, a sharp-eyed reconnaissance satellite built in France and owned by the Turkish armed forces.

A Brazilian satellite designed to track deforestation in the Amazon rainforest will rocket into orbit on top of an Indian launcher late Saturday (U.S. time).

A Russian military communications satellite rode a Soyuz rocket and Fregat upper stage Thursday into an orbit stretching nearly 25,000 miles (40,000 kilometers) above Earth, successfully launching after a one-month delay to replace a suspect third stage on the Soyuz booster.