4K video: Wide-angle view of Falcon 9 hotfire

An Indian Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle lifted off under a veil of secrecy Friday with a nearly 2.5-ton spacecraft designed to relay video broadcasts and data between India and its South Asian neighbors.

The first communications satellite dedicated to support Japanese defense forces will launch Tuesday on top of an H-2A rocket on the way to a perch more than 22,000 miles above Earth.

An Indian rocket deployed 104 spacecraft into orbit 300 miles above Earth on Tuesday, the largest pack of satellites ever launched on a single booster.