Video: Falcon 9 rocket fires up engines on launch pad (members only)

The mission is part of SpaceX’s plan to bolster its internet network in Alaska and other polar regions. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from pad 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base at 8:52 p.m. PDT (11:52 p.m. EDT / 0352 UTC).

A Falcon 9 rocket powered by a first stage booster recovered after a launch in July is being readied for another flight Thursday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

A Chinese Long March 2D rocket successfully delivered seven satellites into a 300-mile-high orbit Friday, boosting international missions to measure seismic signals that could help predict future earthquakes, take detailed imagery of planet Earth and test compact camera, propulsion and radio technology.