Live coverage: Atlas 5 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral

A record number of Atlas 5 launches, the return of Delta 2 and a Delta 4-Heavy at the dawn of a new space exploration era highlighted 2014 for United Launch Alliance.

Two Chinese Beidou navigation satellites successfully launched Monday on top of a Long March 3B rocket, completing the core of China’s independent positioning and timing network ahead of the start of global service next year.

A Russian Progress supply ship launched Tuesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, firing into orbit from a snow-covered pad to haul three tons of fuel, water and equipment to the International Space Station.