Live coverage: Falcon 9 disintegrates after launch

Crew Dragon, meet Falcon 9. SpaceX has released photos showing the Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket that will carry NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken aloft next week.

Strong winds from Hurricane Matthew stripped exterior panels from SpaceX’s payload processing facility at Cape Canaveral last week, but the damage is not likely to affect the company’s plans to launch Falcon 9 rockets again by the end of the year, officials said.

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Friday at 5:39 p.m. EDT (2139 GMT). The commercial booster is hauling up the Thaicom 8 television broadcasting satellite from Cape Canaveral. The rocket’s first stage successfully landed on SpaceX’s recovery platform in the Atlantic Ocean.