Video: Falcon 9 fires up engines for static fire test (members only)

A Rocket Lab Electron launcher malfunctioned about two-and-a-half minutes after liftoff from New Zealand Saturday, destroying two BlackSky optical Earth-imaging satellites in the launch company’s second failed flight in less than a year.

An upgraded Soyuz ferry ship, the second in a new series featuring improved avionics, navigation and other systems, glided to a flawless docking with the International Space Station early Friday, bringing three fresh crew members to the outpost and briefly boosting the lab’s crew back to six.

A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 8:26 p.m. EDT Friday (0026 GMT Saturday) with the U.S. Air Force’s tenth Wideband Global SATCOM satellite, extending the reach of the military’s highest-capacity satellite communications network.