Live coverage: Orion lands in Pacific

An 11-hour practice countdown was completed Friday at Cape Canaveral’s launch complex 41 for the planned launch of an Atlas 5 rocket and Boeing’s Starliner capsule later this month. The rocket was loaded with super-cold liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen in a full dress rehearsal for launch day.

The U.S. military’s next GPS navigation satellite was ready for launch from Cape Canaveral at 9:43 p.m. EDT Friday (0143 GMT Saturday) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. But SpaceX aborted the countdown just two seconds prior to liftoff.

India’s first dedicated astronomical observatory lifted off at 0430 GMT (12:30 a.m. EDT) Monday aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, riding into a 400-mile-high orbit to begin a five-year mission studying the births and deaths of stars.