Watch Falcon 9 rocket lifted upright

Sierra Nevada and United Launch Alliance have announced the most powerful version of the Atlas 5 rocket, with five strap-on boosters and a twin-engine upper stage, will send the first two Dream Chaser cargo missions to the International Space Station from Cape Canaveral in 2020 and 2021, a schedule that still must be confirmed by NASA.

The Falcon Heavy rocket was lowered to the horizontal position at launch pad 39A on 27 January 2018 after a successful engine test firing.

The mission was the 25th flight of the Falcon 9 first stage booster, tail number 1071. The Falcon 9 lifted off from pad 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base at 1:10 p.m. PDT (4:10 p.m. EDT, 2010 UTC).