SpaceX launced a pioneering set of spy satellites for the U.S. government early on Wednesday morning (May 22). A Falcon 9 rocket carried the NROL-146 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to space after liftoff from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base at 4 a.m. EDT (0800 GMT; 1 a.m. local California time).

SpaceX launched another 23 Starlink satellites from Florida on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after launching a group of U.S. spy satellites from California.