Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket soars into space from California

The United Launch Alliance Delta 4 Medium+ (5,4) rocket lifted off at 8:18 p.m. EDT (0018 GMT) from Cape Canaveral in service to the U.S. military’s Wideband Global SATCOM communications satellite constellation.

With an international flair for collaboration, a military communications satellite jointly purchased by five allies was rocketed in space Saturday to further expand the U.S.-operated network that serves battlefield forces anywhere on Earth.

Rocket Lab’s light-class Electron launcher is set to take off on its second orbital test flight from New Zealand, aiming to deliver three small shoebox-sized CubeSats into low Earth orbit for Planet and Spire.