Video: SpaceX test-fires Falcon 9 rocket at pad 40 (members only)

A Gaofen Earth-imaging satellite and two secondary payloads launched Wednesday aboard a Chinese Long March 2D rocket.

America’s most experienced space flier and her three private astronaut crewmates undocked from the International Space Station and plunged back to Earth late Tuesday, blazing through the night sky like a fiery shooting star before splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico.

Arianespace’s third Ariane 5 launch of the year was set liftoff Friday from Kourou, French Guiana, but an issue with a sensor on the rocket’s first stage liquid hydrogen tank caused officials to scrub the launch attempt. The Ariane 5 is poised to carry three U.S.-built commercial satellites into orbit, while testing a few rocket upgrades, including a modified fairing needed for the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope next year.