Live coverage: Atlas 5 countdown and launch journal

One of the largest satellites in the world will launch aboard America’s biggest operational booster Thursday, riding that power to a listening post 22,300 miles above the planet for its clandestine eavesdropping mission, all indications suggest.

The Atlas 5 rocket blasts off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for its late-night ascent to deploy the NROL-42 payload for the National Reconnaissance Office.

The privately-funded, Israeli-built Beresheet spacecraft failed Thursday during its historic attempt to land on the moon, seeking to become the first mission to reach the lunar surface without significant government backing. The landing was expected to occur at 1925 GMT (3:25 p.m. EDT).