BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – SpaceX accomplished its doubleheader Thursday night with an 8:07 p.m. launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket and an 11:01 p.m. launch of the Falcon 9.
After several delays, SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy and the seventh mission of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle from the Kennedy Space Center.
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News4JAX Insider BlainerWainer captured the photo above from Green Cove Springs of Thursday night’s Falcon Heavy launch. For more photos of the launch as seen from Northeast Florida, go to News4JAX.com/SnapJAX.
Though designated a top-secret mission, launch operators have made statements concerning some of the X-37B mission. The uncrewed, solar-powered, Boeing-built reusable vessel will be used for testing, such as operating the spaceplane in varying orbits, investigating the effects of radiation on different materials and “experimenting with future space domain awareness technologies,” according to a news release.
WATCH: Falcon Heavy launch | Falcon 9 launch
“We are excited to expand the envelope of the reusable X-37B’s capabilities, using the flight-proven service module and Falcon Heavy rocket to fly multiple cutting-edge experiments for the Department of the Air Force and its partners,” Lt. Col. Joseph Fritschen, X-37B program director, said earlier in a statement.
SpaceX said it was the fifth launch and landing of the Falcon Heavy side boosters, which previously supported USSF-44, USSF-67, Hughes JUPTER 3, and NASA’s Psyche mission.
Following booster separation, Falcon Heavy’s two side boosters landed on SpaceX’s Landing Zones 1 and 2 (LZ-1 and LZ-2) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
After the successful Falcon Heavy launch, SpaceX sent up the Falcon 9 rocket, carrying 23 Starlink satellites into orbit, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
This was the 12th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched CRS-24, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F, OneWeb 1, SES-18 and SES-19, and now eight Starlink missions.