Video: Press site view of Falcon 9’s launch with the Es’hail 2 satellite (members only)

Watch a video replay of Thursday’s liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying the Es’hail 2 communications satellite into orbit.

The two-stage launcher fired away from pad 39A at 3:46 p.m. EST (2046 GMT) after a trouble-free countdown, and arced to the east over the Atlantic Ocean to send Qatar’s Es’hail 2 satellite toward an eventual perch more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) over the equator.

This video recorded at the KSC Press Site around 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the pad shows the Falcon 9’s fiery blastoff — SpaceX’s 18th launch of the year, and the 18th launch overall from Florida’s Space Coast so far in 2018.

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