Spectators watch the final fiery moments of the Starship test flight

A modified sounding rocket originally designed to loft science instruments on high-altitude suborbital arcs blasted off Saturday from the Uchinoura Space Center in southern Japan and soared into orbit to become the world’s smallest satellite launcher.

NASA has selected Axiom Space, a Houston-based startup partnering with Boeing and other aerospace contractors, to attach a commercial habitat to the International Space Station and begin constructing an orbiting complex that the company says could ultimately replace the international research outpost.

A replay of the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket launching the classified NROL-55 payload for the National Reconnaissance Office from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.