Photos: Falcon takes flight

SpaceX called off a Falcon 9 countdown Wednesday due to the threat of lightning from thunderstorms along Florida’s Space Coast, pushing back the departure of a cargo mission for the International Space Station until Thursday.

SpaceX hoisted its Falcon 9 rocket upright Sunday evening, hours before launching on a commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station. Technicians installed time-sensitive supplies into the Dragon cargo capsule earlier in the day.

A Falcon 9 rocket launched Sunday evening on a record-breaking 62nd orbital launch of the year for SpaceX. The previous record was set in 2022 with 61 launches by the company. Liftoff from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, with 21 Starlink satellites aboard, occurred at 10:47 p.m. EDT (0247 UTC).