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

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched into a starry moonlit sky Thursday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, making a speedy trek across the Atlantic Ocean to place a commercial television broadcast satellite into orbit for EchoStar.

SpaceX has ordered additional inspections on a Falcon 9 rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California,  a decision that is expected to keep the launcher grounded for several days until after the Thanksgiving holiday, officials said Saturday.

A Russian Soyuz rocket lifted off Friday night from a tropical spaceport in French Guiana with a commercial communications satellite setting off on a dual mission to demonstrate new space technologies and bridge the Atlantic with data, video and voice relays. Launch occurred at 0103:34 GMT Saturday (8:03:34 p.m. EST Friday).