Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with the Formosat 5 Earth observation satellite for Taiwan’s National Space Organization. SpaceX’s live video coverage begins at approximately 2:35 p.m. EDT (1835 GMT; 11:35 a.m. PDT). Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. Watch on a mobile device.
Mission Reports
Live coverage: Proton rocket blasts off for first time in a year
A Russian Proton rocket launched at 0345 GMT Thursday (11:45 p.m. EDT Wednesday) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with the EchoStar 21 communications satellite, a hefty 7.6-ton telecommunications station designed to support a mobile network in Europe. Managed by U.S.-based International Launch Services, the mission will take more than nine hours to deliver EchoStar 21 into a geostationary transfer orbit using five burns of the Breeze M upper stage engine.
Mission Reports
All-Italian launch from French Guiana lofts innovative environmental satellite
A Vega rocket fired into orbit Thursday night from French Guiana with Italy’s PRISMA hyperspectral Earth-imaging satellite, commencing a busy period for the Vega launcher program as engineers prepare for the debut of the more powerful Vega-C booster in early 2020 and study a lighter variant to better compete in the growing smallsat launch market.