Photos: Falcon 9 rocket lofts satellites for Eutelsat and ABS

A Falcon 9 rocket blasted off into a brilliant morning sky over the Sunshine State on Wednesday, and these photos show the kerosene-fueled launcher climbing away from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad.

The two-stage rocket launched at 10:29 a.m. EDT (1429 GMT) Wednesday and turned east to inject the Eutelsat 117 West B and ABS 2A communications satellites into a supersynchronous transfer orbit stretching up to 39,000 miles (about 62,700 kilometers) above Earth.

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Photo credit: SpaceX
Photo credit: SpaceX
Photo credit: SpaceX
Photo credit: SpaceX
Photo credit: SpaceX
Photo credit: SpaceX
Photo credit: SpaceX
Photo credit: SpaceX
Photo credit: SpaceX
Photo credit: SpaceX
Photo credit: SpaceX
Photo credit: SpaceX
Photo credit: SpaceX
Photo credit: SpaceX
Photo credit: SpaceX
Photo credit: SpaceX
Photo credit: SpaceX
Photo credit: SpaceX
Photo credit: SpaceX
Photo credit: SpaceX
Photo credit: SpaceX
Photo credit: SpaceX

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