Watch a 4K video replay of the Falcon 9 static fire (members only)

In one of its final preflight tests, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket ignited at pad 39A in Florida for several seconds Thursday, ramping up to full throttle in an end-to-end checkout of the booster before liftoff next week on a space station resupply flight.

A European Ariane 5 rocket climbed off its launch pad in French Guiana with nearly 3 million pounds of thrust Thursday, carrying two communications satellites to orbit for the Japanese military and British-based Avanti Communications.

The first node of a space-based European laser communications network will soar into orbit Friday aboard a commercial Eutelsat broadcasting spacecraft, setting the keystone for a satellite system to relay vast volumes of imagery at lightning fast speeds.