Live coverage: Kennedy Space Center to reopen Friday

The flight of a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket set for Aug. 26 from Cape Canaveral continues the Delta rocket family’s countdown to retirement. With five Delta 4-Heavy missions left to launch, ULA’s chief executive Tory Bruno says there are no plans to build more as the company transitions to the next-generation Vulcan Centaur rocket.

The quick pace of missions is notably quick for the intelligence gathering agency. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 5:29 a.m. PDT (8:29 a.m. EDT, 1229 UTC).

The launch of the Crew 4 mission as seen by Spaceflight Now’s camera at the Kennedy Space Center Press Site.