Video: NASA mission launched to return sample of asteroid

Soaring into a clear early evening sky, SpaceX’s second Falcon Heavy rocket lifted off from a seaside launch complex Thursday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida before a crowd of thousands of space enthusiasts.

After being put back in position around the Delta 4-Heavy rocket after Thursday’s weather scrub, the 330-foot tall mobile service tower is retracted again at Cape Canaveral’s pad 37B for launch that will place the NROL-37 payload into Earth orbit.

This is the launch timeline to be followed by the Atlas 5 rocket’s ascent into orbit from Cape Canaveral with the GOES-S weather satellite. Launch is scheduled for Thursday during a two-hour window opening at 5:02 p.m. EST (2202 GMT).