Live coverage: H-2A rocket blasts off with navigation satellite

Japan has launched a next-generation geostationary weather satellite on the 25th flight of the country’s H-2A rocket, deploying an upgraded meteorological observatory critical to the minute-by-minute tracking of tropical cyclones and other storm systems across the Asia-Pacific.

SpaceX’s Dragon supply ship reached the International Space Station on Wednesday, with astronaut Jeff Williams grappling the unpiloted spacecraft with the research lab’s robotic arm at 6:56 a.m. EDT (1056 GMT) after an automated rendezvous.

A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket will deliver the U.S. Air Force’s second GPS 3-series navigation satellite into an elliptical transfer orbit nearly two hours after liftoff from Cape Canaveral.