Live coverage: SpaceX Falcon Heavy launches NASA’s Psyche on mission to a metal asteroid

Taking aim on the International Space Station, nine kerosene-burning rocket engines powered a SpaceX Falcon 9 launcher into a clear sky over Florida’s Space Coast on Friday night to begin the final flight of the first version of the company’s Dragon cargo ship.

The mission represented a short turnaround time for a national security mission, launching just three months after getting the call up from the government. Liftoff occurred at 1:37 p.m. EDT (1737 UTC).

SpaceX’s next launch from Cape Canaveral is set for Feb. 24, when a Falcon 9 rocket will carry a commercial television broadcasting satellite aloft for Luxembourg-based SES, the payload’s owner announced Monday.