Time-lapse: Falcon 9 goes upright at launch pad 39A (members only)

China launched a Beidou navigation satellite Friday using a Long March 3C rocket, adding another node to a growing space-based network that Chinese officials say will broadcast positioning and timing signals around the world next year.

SpaceX rolled a Falcon Heavy rocket back to its launch pad in Florida Tuesday night for liftoff Thursday with a high-power Viasat broadband satellite, following an eight-day delay for a launch vehicle engine swap.

Ten Iridium communications satellites rode a Falcon 9 rocket into orbit Friday from California in the eighth and final launch for Iridium’s upgraded network over the last two years, and the first of around 18 predicted SpaceX missions planned in 2019.