Live coverage: Veteran three-man crew docks with space station

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.

The European Space Agency’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and Schiaparelli lander were recently presented to the media as they prepare for a tandem launch to the red planet in March.

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.