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

For its first mission of the year, SpaceX launched the Airbus-built Turksat 5A communications satellite to cover Turkey, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa with data relay and television broadcast services. A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 9:15 p.m. EST Thursday (0215 GMT Friday).

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.

Three veteran space fliers rode a Soyuz rocket into orbit Wednesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, heading to the International Space Station for a five-month stay.