Photos: Falcon takes flight

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, built with extended propellant tanks and engines rated for higher thrust, is poised for liftoff on the company’s first launch since a catastrophic failure in June grounded the commercial booster.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fired its nine first stage engines for a brief hold-down firing Friday at Cape Canaveral, passing a key milestone before launch July 24 with a Dragon space station resupply ship.

Two ion-driven communications satellites launched from Cape Canaveral on March 1 have begun novel maneuvers using electric propulsion to reach operating posts 22,300 miles over the equator.