SpaceX has a successful second launch of its Block 5 rocket

Enlarge / The Block 5 variant of the Falcon 9 rocket, on the launchpad, with its Telstar 19V payload. (credit: SpaceX)

Update: At the top of its launch window, the Falcon 9 rocket took off early Sunday at 1:50am ET (05:50 UTC) and lofted its large satellite payload into geostationary transfer orbit. Meanwhile, the first stage of the rocket made a safe landing on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. One wonders how many times we will see this core fly.

Original post: Having worked through its fleet of used Block 4 rockets, SpaceX will now transition into flying its more advanced Block 5 variant of the Falcon 9 rocket full time. As early as 1:50am ET (05:50 UTC) Sunday, SpaceX will attempt to launch the Telstar 19V satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The mission has a four-hour launch window.

This will be the second launch of the new version of SpaceX's Block 5 rocket. The first one had a flawless debut on May 11, and the first stage made a safe return to a drone ship, as expected. Since then, SpaceX engineers have been assessing how that Block 5 core, optimized for reusability, actually performed during that flight.

Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments