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SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch lights up Florida sky

SpaceX launched a communications satellite into orbit with the second-ever launch of its Falcon 9 rocket.
SpaceX Falcon 9 second launch on July 22, 2018.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lighting up the deep overnight sky, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket roared away from Cape Canaveral early Sunday, boosting a heavyweight communications satellite into orbit while its upgraded first stage booster flew itself back to a pinpoint landing on an off-shore droneship.

Earlier versions of the Falcon 9 first stage likely would have been unable to attempt a landing given the Telstar 19 VANTAGE satellite's high-altitude orbit and record weight -- 15,600 pounds -- but the "block 5" version of the booster, featuring more powerful engines, structural upgrades and other improvements, had no obvious problems.

The block 5 debuted in June, along with an upgraded version of the rocket's second stage. Sunday's flight was the second for a block 5 first stage and the fourth for the upgraded upper stage.

It is now SpaceX's go-to rocket, with another rapid-fire launch on tap Wednesday with a different Falcon 9 to boost 10 Iridium NEXT satellite telephone relay stations into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk says block 5 boosters should be able to fly up to 50 to 60 times with minimal refurbishment between flights, a key element in the company's drive to lower launch costs and capture a larger share of the commercial launch market.

But as dramatic as the booster recoveries are, the primary goal of Sunday's flight was to place Ottawa-based Telesat's Telstar 19 VANTAGE satellite into a highly elliptical orbit with a presumed high point of more than 20,000 miles and a low point of less than 200 miles.

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