Photos: Falcon takes flight

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket at 5:37 a.m. PDT (8:37 a.m. EDT; 1237 GMT) Monday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with the third set of 10 new-generation satellites for Iridium’s voice and data relay network. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster successfully landed on a platform in the Pacific Ocean a few minutes after liftoff.

The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command announced that SpaceX and ULA would launch five and two missions respectively as part of the latest round of National Security Space Launch contract assignments.

SpaceX launched its 16th mission of the year early Monday, lighting up a nighttime sky with a Falcon 9 rocket to deliver a Canadian-owned commercial communications satellite to orbit.