Falcon Heavy hot fire as seen from Kennedy Space Center Press Site

The launch came on the heels of a record month for the company, which saw 12 Falcon 9 flights. Liftoff happened at 5:12 a.m. EDT (0912 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40.

An international oceanography satellite arrived at its California launch base from a factory in France on Thursday for fueling, testing and other final preps before its scheduled Aug. 8 blastoff on a Falcon 9 rocket.

Crew Dragon commander Mike Hopkins, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Shannon Walker and Soichi Noguchi flew to the Kennedy Space Center on a NASA-chartered private jet Sunday, ready for a final week of training, refresher courses, and some time off before their launch to the International Space Station.