Live coverage: H-2A rocket lifts off from Japan with navigation satellite

Two direct-to-home broadcasting satellites have launched from French Guiana aboard an Ariane 5 rocket. Liftoff with DirecTV 15 and Sky Mexico 1 occurred at 2116 GMT (5:16 p.m. EDT) Wednesday.

A Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle lifted off Friday with 31 satellites on the first flight for India’s workhorse rocket since an August mishap that left an Indian navigation satellite unusable after reaching orbit.

A Chinese rocket measuring around 100 feet long that launched earlier this month will likely plunge back into Earth’s atmosphere some time Monday, becoming the most massive object in decades to fall out of orbit in an uncontrolled manner.