Live coverage: Falcon 9 disintegrates after launch

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket launched at 5:02 p.m. EST (2202 GMT) Thursday from Cape Canaveral with NOAA’s GOES-S weather satellite, the second in a series of upgraded observatories destined to cover the western United States and the Pacific Ocean.

The adjustment of the launch manifest is in line with NASA’s desire to have a direct handover between its two long-duration crews on the International Space Station.

Photos from the liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket early Monday from Cape Canaveral show the 20-story launcher climbing into a starry sky with the SES 12 communications satellite.