Photos: Falcon takes flight

Throttling up to more than a million pounds of thrust at SpaceX’s Central Texas test facility, a Falcon 9 rocket booster recovered after a commercial satellite launch in May passed a key milestone Thursday as the company sets its sights on re-flying a used first stage on a mission this fall.

The launch of the EchoStar 25 satellite was SpaceX’s first launch to a geosynchronous transfer orbit so far this year. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 12:19 a.m. EDT (0419 UTC)).

Jared Isaacman, a wealthy businessman and pilot, is chartering a four-seat SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule for what will be the first fully commercial, non-government piloted flight to orbit, SpaceX and the entrepreneur announced Monday. The mission will benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.