Live coverage: Kennedy Space Center to reopen Friday

The Canadian telecom satellite operator Telesat plans to launch two multipurpose communications spacecraft aboard SpaceX Falcon rockets in 2018, the company disclosed this week in a quarterly earnings announcement.

Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket will deliver a Cygnus supply ship into orbit Thursday to begin a pursuit of the International Space Station.

A photo gallery shows Thursday night’s successful Atlas 5 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral.