SpaceX conducted the first hold-down firing of an upgraded version of the Falcon 9 rocket Friday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, in preparation for launch next week with Bangladesh’s first communications satellite.

A new-generation weather satellite launched in November promising to deliver better images of hurricanes, storms and clouds than any mission before has returned its first tantalizing pictures from geostationary orbit.

An Atlas 5 rocket rumbled into space Saturday evening after lifting off from Cape Canaveral with multiple U.S. Air Force communications and tech demo satellites, and brilliant clear skies made for ideal viewing conditions shortly before sunset.