Live coverage: SpaceX’s next Falcon 9 moved to launch pad for hotfire test

The Starlink 17-30 mission sent the batch of satellites into a polar low Earth orbit. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 9:47:29 p.m. PST (12:47:29 a.m. EST / 0547:29 UTC).

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.

In one of the strongest public endorsements of SpaceX’s initiative to put a reusable launcher on the commercial market, a top official from satellite communications giant SES said Tuesday that the company wants to fly one of its pricey payloads on a used Falcon 9 rocket, perhaps even without a test flight.