Time-lapse: Falcon 9 lifted vertical on pad 39A (members only)

This was the third launch of a GPS satellite in as many years. Liftoff of the GPS 3-9 mission from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station launched at 11:53:16 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Jan. 27 (0453:16 UTC on Jan. 28).

Bulking up NASA’s constellation of tracking stations in the sky that provides critical links between orbiting spacecraft and ground control, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket successfully deployed a new communications hub in space today.

These photos show the 215-foot-tall Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft at launch pad 39A, ready for liftoff from Florida’s Space Coast on a critical test flight to the International Space Station.