Spectators watch the final fiery moments of the Starship test flight

A four-stage Vega rocket streaked into space Tuesday night from French Guiana, hauling two Israeli-made satellites into polar orbit on military surveillance and environmental research missions.

A high-throughput communications satellite developed as a joint venture between Telesat and APT Satellite lifted off on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 12:45 a.m. EDT (0445 GMT) Monday from Cape Canaveral, following a delay to wait for storms to clear the Florida spaceport.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral on Sunday morning, but most of the launcher’s ascent into orbit will be under a news blackout at the request of the National Reconnaissance Office, the secretive U.S. government intelligence agency whose mission is riding on the rocket.