Live coverage: SpaceX launches first upgraded Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket

The military-run Eastern Range at Cape Canaveral remains ready to support upcoming launches — including an Atlas 5 flight Thursday — amid the coronavirus pandemic, officials said Tuesday.

The mission, dubbed Tranche 1 Transporter Layer C, will add another 21 satellites into the burgeoning constellation for the Space Development Agency. Liftoff from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened Wednesday, Oct. 15, at 4:06 p.m. PDT (7:06 p.m. EDT / 2306 UTC).

The United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket blasts into the predawn skies at Vandenberg Air Force Base with the NROL-45 payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.