Success! SpaceX launches last mission of 2020
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - We have liftoff!
SpaceX successfully launched its final mission of 2020 on Saturday morning, marking its 26th mission of the year.
The final liftoff of 2020 for the space company blasted off at 9 a.m. from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The mission was scrubbed on Thursday due to a second stage sensor reading, according to SpaceX.
The Falcon 9 rocket is carrying a classified satellite for the United States National Reconnaissance Office.
RELATED: Success! SpaceX launches rocket with Sirius XM satellite onboard
Following stage separation, SpaceX landed Falcon 9’s first stage at SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. There is the possibility that residents of Brevard, Orange, Osceola, Indian River, Seminole, and Volusia counties may have heard one or more sonic booms during the landing attempt.
RELATED: NASA selects astronauts for Crew-3 SpaceX mission, including European
Saturday's launch was the second for SpaceX this week. On Sunday, a Falcon 9 rocket blasted off into orbit, bringing a Sirius XM satellite into space.
"This new satellite will send more than 8,000 watts of content to the continental US, Canada, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, which provides users with better signal quality and broader reach," said Kate Tice, a SpaceX engineer.
It's been quite a year for SpaceX.
The space company and NASA made history by launching the first astronauts from American soil in nearly a decade back in May from the Kennedy Space Center.
"Know that we are with you. Have an amazing flight and enjoy those beautiful views of our planet," NASA mission control told astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken before blast off.
RELATED: SpaceX launches four astronauts to the International Space Station
Last month, they did it again, sending up four astronauts to the International Space Station on the first full-fledged taxi flight for NASA by a private company.
NASA has announced the astronauts going on the Crew-3 SpaceX mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
The space agency said that two NASA astronauts and one astronaut from the European Space Agency (ESA) will embark on the mission in the fall of 2021. They will spend six months on the ISS.
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