Video credit: William Harwood/CBS News
SpaceX ran a Falcon 9 rocket through a series of pre-flight checks Monday, culminating in a hold-down engine firing ahead of a planned launch Saturday with a communications satellite for SES and EchoStar.
The two-stage rocket, featuring a previously-flown first stage booster, fired its nine Merlin 1D main engines for several seconds at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT). The engines throttled up to full power, generating around 1.7 million pounds of thrust, while the rocket remained firmly on the ground.
The Falcon 9 rocket is set to launch Saturday with the commercial SES 11/EchoStar 105 communications satellite.
Email the author.
Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.