Atlas 5 launches AEHF 5 as seen from Kennedy Space Center (members only)

Look back on last week’s launch of a Russian Proton rocket from Kazakhstan with the EchoStar 21 communications satellite, a commercial craft designed to beam broadband connectivity to customers across Europe.

The deal comes roughly two months after Firefly inked a deal with Lockheed Martin for up to 25 launches in a similar timeframe. The first Alpha launches under this new contract would launch no earlier than 2027.

SpaceX’s 28th resupply mission to the International Space Station lifted off Monday from the Kennedy Space Center, carrying new solar arrays, fresh food, and experiments to sustain research and upgrade the power system on the orbiting laboratory.