Live coverage: Atlas 5 countdown and launch journal

A television broadcasting satellite for Eutelsat launched Friday atop a Russian Proton rocket to begin a 15-year mission beaming TV programming into homes across Europe. The Proton rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 2220 GMT (5:20 p.m. EST) Friday.

Rocket Lab’s second Electron booster lifted off from New Zealand’s North Island on Saturday, U.S. time, and reached orbit after an eight-minute climb over the Pacific Ocean. Liftoff with three commercial CubeSats occurred at 8:43 p.m. EST Saturday (0143 GMT; 2:43 p.m. New Zealand time Sunday).

Our comprehensive fact sheet previewing the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket deployment of NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-M.