Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket lifts off with fifth set of Iridium Next satellites

The U.S. Air Force’s fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency spacecraft launched Wednesday from Cape Canaveral on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, expanding the reach of the military’s most secure, jam-resistant satellite communications network.

While production of rockets and satellites continues across much of the space industry amid the coronavirus pandemic, engineers at several space companies — including SpaceX, Virgin Orbit and Blue Origin — have started working on medical devices and protective equipment in response to shortages in hospitals across the United States.

NASA’s $1.2 billion Psyche mission to a metal-rich asteroid has lifted off atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Launch from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is occurred at 10:19 a.m. EDT (1419 UTC) Friday.