Live coverage: SpaceX’s next Falcon 9 moved to launch pad for hotfire test

The Starlink 17-2 mission will be SpaceX’s 92nd launch of 2025. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from pad 4 East at 9:31 p.m. PDT (12:31 a.m. EDT / 0431 UTC).

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket rolled out to its launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on Monday, one day before its scheduled liftoff carrying seven satellites into orbit on commercial communications and climate research missions.

Investigators believe a leak of propellant inside the Crew Dragon spacecraft’s propulsion system led to the capsule’s explosion April 20 during a ground test at Cape Canaveral, and a senior SpaceX official said Monday that delays are making it “increasingly difficult” to fly astronauts on the commercial spaceship before the end of the year.