Video: Soyuz MS-01 leaves the space station for landing

Five satellites rode a Soyuz booster into orbit Monday from French Guiana, and these spectacular photos from Europe’s tropical spaceport show the legendary rocket’s fiery departure from the edge of the lush Amazon jungle.

After waiting for a Soyuz crew ferry craft to launch and dock, a commercial Cygnus supply ship arrived at the International Space Station with a fresh delivery of more than 5,100 pounds of provisions and experiments Sunday. The rendezvous culminated in the spaceship’s grapple by the space station’s robotic arm at 7:28 a.m. EDT (1128 GMT).

A Russian Soyuz rocket rolled out to a launch pad Monday at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, ready for final inspections, checkouts and fueling before liftoff Thursday with a Progress supply ship bound for the International Space Station.