Photos: Delta 4 lights up the sky for night owl launch

Rocket Lab’s launch of NASA’s second pair of TROPICS hurricane research satellites, reassigned from Astra following a launch failure last year, has been rescheduled for Sunday after a delay due to unfavorable weather at the the company’s New Zealand spaceport.

The Hispasat 30W-6 satellite, set to begin a 15-year telecommunications mission, deployed from the upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket around 33 minutes after liftoff from Cape Canaveral Tuesday.

An Indian Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle debuting an upgraded higher-thrust second stage engine lifted off at 1126 GMT (7:26 a.m. EDT) Thursday with an S-band communications satellite.