Q&A with Marc Eisenberg, Orbcomm’s chief executive

SpaceX has delayed a planned Falcon 9 launch with a Japanese communications satellite to Friday due to inclement weather on Florida’s Space Coast.

After a brief delay to chase away a boat from offshore waters, Japan’s H-2A rocket launched at 0650 GMT (1:50 a.m. EST) with the Telstar 12 Vantage telecom satellite. The launch from marks the first flight of an H-2A rocket with an upgraded upper stage, and the launcher’s first dedicated commercial mission.

SpaceX’s next Falcon 9 rocket ignited its nine Merlin engines at Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad 39A Thursday in a customary pre-flight test ahead of the company’s next mission, slated for Monday with a commercial South Korean-owned communications satellite.