Photos: Atlas 5 rocket powers NROL-52 payload to space

A French military spy satellite lifted off Tuesday atop a Soyuz rocket from French Guiana. Launch of Arianespace’s final mission of 2020 occurred at 11:42 a.m. EST (1642 GMT). Officials called off a launch attempt Monday because of unfavorable high-altitude winds over the spaceport in South America.

A three-man crew from Russia, the United States and Italy climbed inside a Soyuz spacecraft and rocketed into orbit Saturday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on course for the International Space Station.

A new era in GPS navigation launched Sunday, when a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket climbed into orbit with a Lockheed Martin-built satellite designed to beam higher-power positioning, navigation and timing signals around the world, providing military and civilian users with more accurate data that is more resistant to growing jamming threats.