Live coverage: Europe’s next environmental sentinel lifts off

For the second time this year, SpaceX has launched a commercial communications satellite for Tokyo-based SKY Perfect JSAT Corp. A Falcon 9 rocket blasted off at 1:26 a.m. EDT (0526 GMT) from Cape Canaveral with the JCSAT 16 satellite to relay data and video across Japan and the Asia-Pacific. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster nailed a landing on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean a few minutes later.

An Indian satellite designed to collect all-weather, day-and-night radar imagery for military and intelligence authorities is scheduled for launch Wednesday on top of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.

Virgin Orbit, the satellite launch company founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, permanently ceased operations last month, following a major mission failure in January at a time when it was already facing financial headwinds.