Photos: Falcon takes flight

SpaceX’s first Falcon Heavy rocket fired up 27 main engines Wednesday on launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, sending a crackling rumble across the swampy spaceport and moving the heavy-lifter a step closer to its oft-delayed maiden flight as soon as next week.

The touchdown of booster 1075 marked SpaceX’s 450th Falcon booster landing. Liftoff from pad 4 East happened at 3:32 p.m. PDT (6:32 p.m. EDT, 2232 UTC).

A U.S. military satellite that will fortify the “anytime, anywhere” communications infrastructure used by soldiers, ships, aircraft and drones was launched into orbit Thursday to improve the global connectivity that encompasses the planet.