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

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket took off Monday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with 10 new satellites for Iridium’s upgraded communications network in low Earth orbit.

United Launch Alliance engineers filled a Delta 4-Heavy rocket with super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants Friday at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station during a practice countdown before the heavy-lifter’s scheduled liftoff in June with a top secret U.S. government spy satellite.

The United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket has taken off tonight from Cape Canaveral, headed for space to deploy a satellite bought by allied nations to bolster the U.S. military global communications infrastructure.