Watch the Falcon Heavy fire up its engines

Launching a highly sophisticated infrared surveillance satellite for the U.S. military, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket thunders away from Cape Canaveral.

The mission, dubbed ‘Astranis: From One to Many,’ includes the company’s new UtilitySat, which is designed to relocate within geostationary Earth orbit over its life to respond to different mission objectives.

The launch came on the heels of the Crew-8 mission sending three astronauts and a cosmonaut on their way to the International Space Station. Liftoff took place on Monday, March 4, at 6:56 p.m. EST (2356 UTC).