Live coverage: Two Americans, one Russian back on Earth from space station

Seven small satellites rode a Rocket Lab Electron rocket into orbit Saturday from New Zealand. Carrying commercial, military and student payloads, the Electron launcher lifted off at 0430 GMT (12:30 a.m. EDT).

NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy’s family will be watching remotely from halfway around the world when he blasts off April 9 from Kazakhstan to begin a six-month expedition on the International Space Station.

Four satellites set to join O3b’s expanding broadband network successfully launched Friday on top of a Russian-built Soyuz booster from French Guiana, joining 12 other craft linking developing nations, far-flung islands, cruise ships and other hard-to-reach locales with the Internet.