Watch time-lapse of Falcon Heavy going upright (members only)

Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi has traveled to the International Space Station on a space shuttle and a Russian capsule. He’s now gearing up to launch on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship, becoming only the third person to launch from Earth into orbit on three different types of spacecraft.

A Thai communications satellite is fastened to the top of SpaceX’s 229-foot-tall Falcon 9 rocket for launch Thursday. See photos of the Falcon 9 and Thaicom 8 being prepared for liftoff.

The mission features orbital transfer vehicles that are carrying 30 of the payloads with 14 being deployed after the initial mission launch. Liftoff from pad 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 10:49 a.m. PST (1:49 p.m. EST, 1849 UTC).