Live coverage: Mission control loses contact with Indian moon lander

A late afternoon launch from French Guiana on Wednesday sent two communications satellites into orbit aboard a European Ariane 5 rocket for the Australian and Indian governments, and imagery recorded the powerful booster blasting off into a clear sky over the tropical space base.

SpaceX conducted the first hold-down firing of an upgraded version of the Falcon 9 rocket Friday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, in preparation for launch next week with Bangladesh’s first communications satellite.

The sixth satellite in a series of seven orbiting navigation aids lifted off from India on Thursday, streaking into orbit aboard a 145-foot-tall Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.