Live coverage: Falcon 9 blasts off with X-37B mini-shuttle

After replacing a faulty inertial measurement system blamed for a scrubbed launch attempt Sunday, a Soyuz rocket headed to space from French Guiana today with five satellites, including the next spacecraft for Europe’s multibillion-dollar Earth observing network and a French experiment to probe the validity of Einstein’s theory of general relativity.

The International Space Station is likely to continue operating for another decade, but without more government support, a privately-owned outpost may not be ready in time to replace it, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said.

After several delays earlier this week, SpaceX conducted a hold-down test-firing of a Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral Friday evening in a key test before launch next week on a resupply mission to the International Space Station.