Live coverage: Falcon 9 disintegrates after launch

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket completed a prelaunch hotfire test at launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday in a signifiant step before Sunday’s scheduled liftoff of a top secret U.S. government spy payload.

Little has been said officially about the satellites, which have been described as part of the agency’s “proliferated architecture.” Liftoff happened at the opening of the launch window at 1 a.m. PDT (4 a.m. EDT, 0800 UTC).

Standing in front of a shiny full-scale prototype of SpaceX’s Starship vehicle in South Texas, Elon Musk said Saturday night he wants the company’s gigantic next-generation rocket to fly into orbit within six months, a bold schedule that he acknowledged requires “exponential” improvements in design and manufacturing.