Live coverage: Kennedy Space Center to reopen Friday

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off Thursday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida with the U.S. Air Force’s X-37B mini-shuttle, an unpiloted orbiting military laboratory. Liftoff occurred at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT), and the Falcon 9’s first stage booster successfully landed at Cape Canaveral a few minutes later.

A U.S.-built, Bulgarian-owned broadcast satellite will launch in mid-June from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a previously-used SpaceX Falcon 9 booster that first flew in January, officials said Friday.

SpaceX called off a launch attempt in Texas Monday for the Super Heavy booster and Starship launch vehicle, blaming a bad valve on the first stage. The next launch attempt for the world’s largest rocket is scheduled for Thursday, depending on weather and a fix for the valve problem.