Q&A with Keith Gendreau, principal investigator of the first X-ray space communications experiment (members only)

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps — a branch of the country’s armed forces — launched a small military spacecraft into orbit Wednesday, ending a string of rocket failures in the nascent Iranian satellite program.

Check out a view of the Falcon 9 launch Monday from our camera at the Kennedy Space Center press site about three miles from pad 39A.

A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 8:09 p.m. EST Thursday (0109 GMT Friday). The long-delayed mission is carrying a classified spy satellite into orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office.