Watch a live view of SpaceX’s Cape Canaveral launch pad (members only)

A reconnaissance satellite built in secrecy in France for the Moroccan government launched Tuesday on top of a Vega rocket from the Guiana Space Center in South America.

Northrop Grumman is gearing up for up to four launches this year at Wallops Island, Virginia, including two launches with Cygnus cargo ships heading to the International Space Station, and a pair of Minotaur rocket flights carrying classified payloads into orbit for the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency.

A three-minute test flight Tuesday morning over Cape Canaveral will help ensure NASA’s Orion crew capsule — the vehicle being built to carry astronauts back to the moon — can safely escape from a catastrophic failure on launch.