The first launch by SpaceX for the U.S. Space Force on June 30 carried the third in a new line of modernized GPS navigation satellites into orbit from Cape Canaveral.
The 9,505-pound (4,311-kilogram) GPS 3 SV03 spacecraft rode into orbit inside the payload shroud of a Falcon 9 rocket, on the way to replace an aging GPS satellite launched in May 2000.
These photos show the Falcon 9 rocket firing off pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 4:10:46 p.m. EDT (2010:46 GMT). Nine Merlin 1D engines, burning a mixture of kerosene and liquid oxygen, powered the Falcon 9 into the sky with 1.7 million pounds of thrust.
The launch marked the 88th flight of a Falcon 9 rocket since SpaceX debuted its workhorse launch vehicle in June 2010. It was the 11th Falcon 9 flight so far in 2020.
Read our full story for details on the June 30 launch.
Email the author.
Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.
