4K video: Wide-angle view of Falcon 9 hotfire

Ten commercial Earth-imaging satellites are mounted on top of a Rocket Lab Electron launcher for liftoff Wednesday from New Zealand.

The successful maiden flight of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket in February was enough for the U.S. Air Force to certify the huge booster to carry the military’s most precious cargo into orbit, beginning with the mid-2020 launch of a classified payload under a $130 million contract awarded last week.

A Chinese-built communications satellite owned by Hong Kong-based operator launched Thursday aboard a Long March 3B rocket from the Xichang space base in southwest China.