Live coverage: SpaceX cargo capsule returns to Earth

After scrubbing a launch attempt Friday, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Saturday on a mission to send communications satellites from OneWeb and Iridium into polar orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Liftoff occurred at 6:16 a.m. PDT (9:16 a.m. EDT; 1316 UTC).

NASA is moving forward with a crucial test-firing of the core stage of the first Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket as soon as Jan. 17 after engineers were satisfied with the results of a fueling test last month.

A commercial supply ship owned and operated by Orbital ATK departed the International Space Station on Friday, heading for a destructive re-entry over the Pacific Ocean with more than 1.5 tons of trash. The station’s robotic arm released Cygnus at 1226 GMT (7:26 a.m. EST).