Video: Falcon 9 launch with natural sound (members only)

Rocket Lab’s first operational launch took off from Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand at 10:50 p.m. EST Saturday (0350 GMT Sunday). The Electron rocket is carrying six CubeSats and a tech demo payload into orbit for customers in the United States, Australia, and Germany.

SpaceX ran a Falcon 9 rocket through a customary preflight checkout Tuesday, filling it with super-cold propellants and firing its nine Merlin first stage engines in preparation for liftoff Friday on a resupply run to the International Space Station.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket took off from Cape Canaveral on its 15th flight just before sunset Wednesday, putting on a spectacular sky show en route to space with a NOAA satellite to measure the solar wind.