Live coverage: PSLV launches with 14 satellites

Rocket Lab counted down to the second test flight of its commercial Electron satellite launcher Monday, U.S. time, but a dramatic computer-commanded abort triggered moments after its engines ignited kept the light-class booster on its New Zealand launch pad for at least two more days.

After a year-long delay to troubleshoot recurring erroneous data signatures from the rudder of Northrop Grumman’s air-launched Pegasus XL rocket, NASA is eager to send a $252 million research satellite into orbit as soon as Thursday night off Florida’s east coast on a mission to probe the ionosphere, a region near the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and space.

After a lull in launch activity this fall, SpaceX teams at Cape Canaveral are preparing for up to four Falcon 9 missions in December to close out 2019 with a surge of launches.