Photos: Falcon takes flight

The Starlink 12-9 mission was SpaceX’s 10th dedicated flight supporting the launch of its Starlink V2 Mini satellites. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is set for 2:18 p.m. EST (1918 UTC).

A Falcon 9 launcher bolted into the sky over Florida’s Space Coast on Friday, adding the brilliant orange glare of rocket exhaust to a spectacular sunset as the 229-foot-tall booster propelled the SES 9 communications satellite into orbit to serve the Asia-Pacific with high-definition television programming and connectivity on-the-go.

The Saturday morning launch broke the pad turnaround record at Space Launch Complex 40 by at nearly six hours. Liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 7:35 a.m. EDT (1135 UTC).