Photos: More shots of Thursday’s Atlas 5 rocket launch

SpaceX could use its Starship vehicles to clear out space debris in Earth orbit, alongside the program’s more publicized purpose of ferrying people and cargo to the moon and Mars, a company executive said.

The sixth and final satellite in the U.S. military’s most secure satellite communications fleet lifted off from Cape Canaveral Thursday aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, extending the network’s expected lifetime beyond 2030.

Follow the major events of the Atlas 5 rocket’s launch with the Solar Orbiter spacecraft with this mission timeline.