The next Delta 4-Heavy rocket was raised vertical Friday at Cape Canaveral, signaling the start of a comprehensive series of pre-flight tests before liftoff next year with a top secret U.S. government spy satellite.

Two geostationary communications satellites rode an Ariane 5 rocket into orbit Wednesday from a launch pad in French Guiana, embarking on missions to broadcast television across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, link European air travelers with Wi-Fi, and relay video and data signals across India.

The four members of the SpaceX Crew-11 flight were previously set to fly on different missions before they ended up as a quartet on the Dragon Endeavour spacecraft. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is scheduled for no earlier than Friday, Aug. 1, at 11:43 a.m. EDT (1543 UTC).