With another SpaceX rocket poised for launch just a few miles away, a Falcon 9 launcher soared through a moonlit sky over Cape Canaveral on Feb. 4 carrying 60 more Starlink internet satellites into orbit.
These photos show the 229-foot-tall (70-meter) Falcon 9 rocket taking off from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 1:19 a.m. EST (0619 GMT) on Feb. 4. Nine Merlin 1D engines, consuming kerosene in combination with super-cold liquid oxygen, powered the rocket off the pad with 1.7 million pounds of fiery orange thrust.
The rocket’s reusable booster fired through a clear night sky, steering the Falcon 9 by the moon as seen from well-aligned observers to the west of the launch pad.
These photos show the Falcon 9 rocket’s climb into space. The Falcon 9’s upper stage deployed all 60 Starlink internet satellites into orbit about an hour after liftoff.
Read our full story for details on the mission.
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