Live coverage: Proton rocket blasts off for first time in a year

An Ariane 5 rocket delivered a robotic space tug and a pair of commercial communications satellites into orbit Saturday following a fiery blastoff from French Guiana, debuting new upgrades in Arianespace’s first mission since temporarily suspending launch operations earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Indian ground teams lost contact with a robotic lunar lander and rover minutes before their scheduled touchdown near the moon’s south pole. India was attempting to become the fourth country to achieve a soft landing on the moon.

Another batch of 52 Starlink satellites launched late Tuesday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, on the way to join SpaceX’s fleet of more than 4,000 spacecraft beaming broadband signals around the world.