Live coverage: Soyuz crew capsule arrives at space station

Three veteran space fliers rode a Soyuz rocket into orbit Wednesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, heading to the International Space Station for a five-month stay.

NASA managers have ruled out putting a crew on board an Orion capsule atop the agency’s huge Space Launch System rocket for the gargantuan booster’s maiden flight in 2019, citing technical risks and higher costs, up to as much as $900 million, agency officials said Friday.

NASA officials gave approval Tuesday for SpaceX to begin regular crew rotation flights to the International Space Station with the launch of four astronauts set for Saturday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, signaling a transition from development to operations for the human-rated Dragon spacecraft.