Spectators watch the final fiery moments of the Starship test flight

A Vega rocket faltered minutes after liftoff from French Guiana at 9:53 p.m. EDT Wednesday (0153 GMT) and failed to reach orbit with a European-built reconnaissance satellite for the United Arab Emirates. The payload and launcher fell into the Atlantic Ocean, marking the first failure for the solid-fueled Vega launch vehicle.

The Starlink 17-31 mission was SpaceX’s 25th mission supporting its broadband internet satellite constellation so far in 2026. Liftoff from pad 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 7:57:59 a.m. PDT (10:57:59 a.m. EDT / 1457:59 UTC).

Rocket Lab plans to launch a research and development microsatellite mission for the U.S. Air Force in the first half of 2020 on the the first flight from the company’s new launch facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, officials announced Thursday.