Q&A with Guglielmo Aglietti, RemoveDebris principal investigator (members only)

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket powered by a reused first stage climbed into orbit Tuesday from California’s Central Coast, carrying five satellites to upgrade Iridium’s global messaging service and two research craft to study Earth’s water cycle.

Two days after lifting off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Complex 40 launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, a commercial Dragon supply ship loaded with more than 4,800 pounds of supplies and experiments arrived Sunday at the International Space Station. Capture of the robotic cargo craft occurred at 5:57 a.m. EST (1057 GMT).

A European environmental satellite launched Tuesday from Russia’s Plesetsk Cosmodrome to begin a mission of at least seven years measuring the height, color and temperature of the world’s oceans. The Sentinel 3A spacecraft lifted off aboard a Rockot booster at 1757 GMT (12:57 p.m. EST).