Watch a replay of the Delta 4 NROL-47 launch

Chinese rockets performed two satellite delivery missions in a three-hour span Wednesday, carrying a commercial Earth-imaging satellite and five mysterious surveillance payloads into orbit.

Technicians are putting the final touches on a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket set for liftoff Thursday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, a military base on California’s Central Coast, with a top secret spy satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office.

Launching into a clear autumn sky at sunset, a Falcon 9 rocket took off Wednesday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and delivered the SES 11/EchoStar 105 communications satellite to orbit.