Falcon 9 launches with GovSat 1 as seen from Kennedy Space Center (members only)

The mission will be SpaceX’s 470th Falcon 9 rocket launch to date. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is targeted at 9:17 p.m. EDT (0117 UTC).

It’s one thing to watch a spouse blast off on a rocketship, especially when the spacecraft is making its first flight with people on board. But it’s altogether another matter when the anxious spouse is an astronaut as well.

A hefty new satellite to beam SiriusXM radio programming across North America rode a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket into orbit Sunday from Cape Canaveral on course to replace an aging broadcast station launched more than 15 years ago.