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

The final flight of a discontinued version of Europe’s Ariane 5 rocket added four more spacecraft to Europe’s Galileo navigation constellation Wednesday, giving the multibillion-euro network enough satellites to remain on track for the start of full global service in 2020.

Taking off and landing in the middle of the night at Cape Canaveral, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully delivered a Dragon supply ship to orbit for the International Space Station as the launcher’s first stage booster swooped to a spectacular touchdown.

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Friday at 5:39 p.m. EDT (2139 GMT). The commercial booster is hauling up the Thaicom 8 television broadcasting satellite from Cape Canaveral. The rocket’s first stage successfully landed on SpaceX’s recovery platform in the Atlantic Ocean.