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

Crews working on Virginia’s Eastern Shore this week raised a top secret payload for the National Reconnaissance Office — the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency — atop a solid-fueled Minotaur 4 rocket for liftoff July 15 on the first Minotaur launch in nearly three years.

China launched three Yaogan military satellites Friday on a Long March 4C rocket, adding to a fleet of spacecraft independent analysts believe are designed to spy on naval forces.

SpaceX will not be making a Falcon 9 launch attempt Tuesday night. The next opportunities to launch the Falcon 9 with 60 Starlink satellites from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center will come at 3:24 a.m. EST (0824 GMT) or 5:42 a.m. EST (0942 GMT) Thursday. This change in launch time suggests SpaceX will target a different orbital plane within the Starlink constellation.