Live coverage: Two satellites lift off aboard Ariane 5

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.

A powerful Ariane 5 rocket rolled out of its vertical assembly hangar to a tropical launch pad on the shores of South America on Monday, and these photos show the booster on the eve of liftoff.

The mission was the sixth launch of a Vega-C rocket to date. Liftoff from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana occurred at 2:21 p.m. local time (12:21 p.m. EST / 1721 UTC).