Live coverage: Falcon 9 disintegrates after launch

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket ignited its nine kerosene-fueled Merlin engines on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral on Tuesday evening in a critical milestone before liftoff with a commercial Thai communications satellite later in the week.

The Starlink 17-11 mission included the 475th launch of a flight-proven booster. SpaceX achieved liftoff from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base at 9:26 p.m. PDT (12:26 a.m. EDT / 0426 UTC).

The Starlink 17-30 mission was SpaceX’s 30th mission supporting its broadband internet satellites megaconstellation so far this year. Liftoff from pad 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 2:51:49 p.m. PDT (5:51:49 p.m. EDT / 2151:49 UTC).