Live coverage: Ariane 5 blasts off with two Intelsat satellites

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket ignited its nine Merlin main engines for several seconds Thursday at launch pad 39A in Florida, moving the previously-flown booster closer to a scheduled blastoff Monday with a Bulgarian communications satellite.

An Ariane 5 rocket lifted off at 2143 GMT (5:43 p.m. EDT) Thursday from French Guiana with a pair of commercial TV broadcasting satellites for AT&T and Eutelsat.

The privately-funded, Israeli-built Beresheet spacecraft failed Thursday during its historic attempt to land on the moon, seeking to become the first mission to reach the lunar surface without significant government backing. The landing was expected to occur at 1925 GMT (3:25 p.m. EDT).