Live coverage: ExoMars orbiter steers into orbit around Mars, lander’s fate TBD

A modest European-built spacecraft tuned to test the delicate, cutting edge technologies required to detect gravitational waves, a measurement that scientists say could yield unforeseen discoveries about the universe, is awaiting liftoff aboard a solid-fueled Vega rocket this week.

An Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle lifted off at 0000 GMT Wednesday (8 p.m. EDT Tuesday) carrying a radar observation satellite to collect imagery in support of military, intelligence and environmental agencies.

Ground crews at Vandenberg Air Force Base on California’s Central Coast hoisted NASA’s InSight Mars lander atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket Monday, kicking off nearly two weeks of integrated tests and checkouts before the probe’s interplanetary launch window opens May 5.