Live coverage: Two satellites blast off on Ariane 5

A European environmental satellite rode a solid-fueled Vega launcher from a tropical spaceport at the edge of the Amazon jungle into polar orbit Monday night, adding a new eye in the sky to check on the health of crops and forests from space.

Two communications satellites launched from Cape Canaveral in March aboard Falcon 9 rockets, including a broadcasting craft that lifted off on SpaceX’s first re-flown booster, have entered commercial service, according to their owners.

Nine Merlin engines on the first stage of SpaceX’s next Falcon 9 rocket briefly fired up on a Cape Canaveral launch pad Wednesday, and the launcher cleared a customary pre-flight checkout in preparation for liftoff early Sunday with a Canadian-owned communications satellite.