Live coverage: 400th Proton rocket takes off with Russian satellite

In a mission marking the end of an era, NASA astronaut and former virus hunter Kate Rubins, using NASA’s last currently contracted seat on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, rocketed into orbit Wednesday with two cosmonaut crewmates on a record-setting flight to the International Space Station.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket disintegrated shortly after launch from Cape Canaveral on Sunday, dealing a blow to the entrepreneurial space company and NASA’s supply chain to the International Space Station.

The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 8:37 a.m. EDT (1237 GMT) today to deploy a classified satellite in service to the national security of the United States. Follow the mission in our live journal.