A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried South Korea's first spy satellite into orbit on Friday from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base, after North Korea successfully launched its own military reconnaissance satellite last month.
The satellite was placed into orbit and a little over an hour after launch "successfully established communication with an overseas ground station," South Korea's defense ministry said.
SpaceX ended its livestream of the mission minutes after the rocket's 10:19 a.m. liftoff and then recovery of its core stage booster without showing the South Korean payload's deployment.