SpaceX launches Falcon 9 after weather delay

SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Tuesday evening.  The launch was delayed by about 30 minutes due to inclement weather. 

The rocket carried the Amos 17 communications satellite into orbit. The satellite was built by Boeing and owned by Spacecom Ltd. of Israel. It will provide high-throughput broadband connectivity and other communications services over Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.

This satellite was originally going to be lunched in May but had been delayed several times since then.

SpaceX's launch of its Falon 9 is not the only launch this week.  On Thursday morning, United Launch Alliance will use an Atlas V 551 rocket to launch the fifth communications satellite in the Lockheed Martin-built Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) series for the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center.

AEHF satellites provide highly-secure, jam-proof connectivity between U.S. national leadership and deployed military forces.

The two-hour launch window for the Atlas V 551 rocket opens at 5:44 a.m. EDT and will take place at Space Launch Complex-41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

 

This story was written in Orlando, Florida.