Live coverage: Falcon 9 disintegrates after launch

Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with 60 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network.

Advancing the future of weather forecasting in the U.S., a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 6:42 p.m. EST (2342 GMT) today to deploy the GOES-R satellite, anext-generation geostationary observatory that promises unprecedented clarity and speed in tracking storms. Follow the ascent in our live journal.

The Starlink 10-52 mission was SpaceX’s 130th Falcon 9 launch of the year. The rocket’s liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened Thursday, Oct. 16, at 5:27 a.m. EDT (0927 UTC).