Live coverage: Mission control loses contact with Indian moon lander

After a brief delay to chase away a boat from offshore waters, Japan’s H-2A rocket launched at 0650 GMT (1:50 a.m. EST) with the Telstar 12 Vantage telecom satellite. The launch from marks the first flight of an H-2A rocket with an upgraded upper stage, and the launcher’s first dedicated commercial mission.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 11:11 a.m. EDT (1511 GMT) today to boost Orbital ATK’s commercially-operated Cygnus cargo ship toward a Saturday rendezvous with the International Space Station. Follow the ascent in our live journal.

Two new satellites for Eutelsat and Intelsat, two of the world’s largest telecom satellite operators, blasted off aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from South America’s Amazon jungle Thursday at 2034 GMT (4:34 p.m. EDT).