SpaceX conducts engine test fire for communications satellite launch (members only)

China launched a Beidou navigation satellite Friday using a Long March 3C rocket, adding another node to a growing space-based network that Chinese officials say will broadcast positioning and timing signals around the world next year.

With an international flair for collaboration, a military communications satellite jointly purchased by five allies was rocketed in space Saturday to further expand the U.S.-operated network that serves battlefield forces anywhere on Earth.

The Falcon 9 first stage booster, tail number B1080, landed near Exuma, an island within The Bahamas. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 6:21 p.m. EST (2321 UTC).