Photos: First ULA mission of the year blasts off

After scrubbing a launch attempt Nov. 29 due to a problem with a second stage umbilical, Rocket Lab launched seven small satellites on an Electron booster from New Zealand at 3:18 a.m. EST (0818 GMT) Friday. The Electron rocket lifted off with an upgraded first stage carrying new hardware to control the rocket’s re-entry before teams attempt to catch the booster on future missions for refurbishment and reuse.

Japan’s eighth resupply mission to the International Space Station is set for liftoff Sept. 10 with another batch of upgraded batteries, crew provisions and experiments for the orbiting research lab, the country’s space agency announced Monday.

Rocket Lab’s first full-up commercial launch is set for April 19, U.S. time, from the company’s privately-operated launch base in New Zealand with three U.S.-owned satellites to collect weather data.