SpaceX launches 2.5 tons of cargo to the ISS, but … [Updated]

Enlarge / SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket goes vertical on Wednesday morning in Florida. (credit: SpaceX)
2:15pm ET Update: SpaceX successfully launched the Dragon spacecraft en route to the International Space Station on Wednesday. However, in something of a surprise, the first stage didn't quite make it back safely to the landing site. We have full details in a new story.
Original post: This is an extraordinary week for orbital launches. On Monday, alone, a Soyuz rocket carried three humans into space, en route to the International Space Station. Then, a Falcon 9 rocket launched 64 smallsats into orbit about 500km above the planet.

On Tuesday, the flurry of activity continued when an Ariane 5 rocket lofted two large satellites to geostationary transfer orbit. This capped Arianespace's launch program for the year.
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