Live coverage: Atlas 5 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral

A Proton rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with the EchoStar 21 communications satellite Thursday, the heaviest commercial payload ever flown aboard a Russian booster.

Two-and-a-half days after launch from Virginia, a Northrop Grumman Cygnus supply ship arrived at the International Space Station Tuesday with nearly 7,500 pounds of cargo. Capture with the station’s robotic arm occurred at 4:05 a.m. EST (0905 GMT).

Three space station residents launched Friday from Kazakhstan, kicking off a nearly yearlong expedition to help plan for future voyages to Mars. The crew blasted off on a Soyuz rocket heading for the International Space Station at 1943 GMT (3:43 p.m. EDT). Docking occurred at 0136 GMT (9:36 p.m. EDT).