The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket set to loft the fifth batch of Iridium Next mobile communications satellites stands vertical on Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
The two-stage rocket, towering 229 feet (70 meters) tall, is set for liftoff at 7:13:51 a.m. PDT (10:13:51 a.m. EDT; 1413:51 GMT) Friday with 10 Iridium Next spacecraft on-board.
The Falcon 9’s first stage previously flew in October 2017 with an earlier set of Iridium Next satellites.
These photos of the Falcon 9 rocket, backdropped by a marine fog layer over the Pacific Ocean, were taken as photographers set up remote cameras near the launch pad Thursday.
