Live coverage: Delta 2 launches

Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with the fourth set of 10 next-generation satellites for Iridium’s voice and data relay fleet.

The U.S. Space Force announced Tuesday that it awarded $384 million in contracts to United Launch Alliance and SpaceX, giving each company two missions to launch military satellites in 2023.

The U.S. military’s highest capacity communications satellite ever built was successfully launched into space tonight, departing Cape Canaveral aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket at 6:53 p.m. EST (2353 GMT).