Video: Space station’s robot arm captures Dragon cargo ship

A threatening layer of clouds stayed away from SpaceX’s launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Tuesday, allowing for clear viewing of a spectacular Falcon 9 launch carrying commercial and scientific satellites into polar orbit.

Kicking off the month of December for SpaceX is a Falcon 9 ride share mission with a payload of 25 spacecraft on board. Liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base with 25 spacecraft occurred at 10:19 a.m. PST (1:19 p.m. EST, 1819 UTC).

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, built to find planets around other stars that are close enough for detailed follow-ups by future telescopes, launched Wednesday into a unique high-altitude orbit on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral.