Watch the Falcon 9 launch from pad 39A

SpaceX continued its blistering pace of orbital launches with its ninth and final Starlink launch of August. Liftoff of its Falcon 9 rocket from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 7:49 a.m. EDT (1149 UTC).

The mission opportunity came as solar activity triggered an alert from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for a severe geomagnetic storm alert, which could impact the Starlink satellites. The launch teams are now targeting Tuesday, June 3 at 12:29 a.m. EDT (0429 UTC).

NASA and Orbital ATK have agreed to schedule the launch of the next Cygnus supply ship for Nov. 10 from Wallops Island on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, a delay of a month from the mission’s earlier target launch date to allow the flight to carry more cargo to the International Space Station, officials said.