Live coverage: SpaceX launches another batch of Starlink satellites

Launch preparations for the SES 10 communications satellite, the first spacecraft to ride a reused Falcon 9 booster to space, are on track for a late March blastoff from Florida, officials said.

A powerful European Ariane 5 rocket blasted off from French Guiana late Friday and boosted a pair of satellites into space for a seven-year plunge into the inner solar system, a voyage requiring seven planetary flybys to slow down enough in the sun’s gravitational clutches to slip into orbit around hellish Mercury.

The launch came on the heels of a record month for the company, which saw 12 Falcon 9 flights. Liftoff happened at 5:12 a.m. EDT (0912 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40.