VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, California (Reuters) — SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket carrying an Earth-observation satellite on Thursday, August 24.
The Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 1151 local time (1851GMT). The rocket carried the Taiwanese-made Formosat-5 spacecraft into orbit and then landed on a SpaceX drone ship in the Pacific Ocean.
SpaceX said the Formosat-5 will provide detailed images of the Earth for at least five years.