SpaceX successfully launches their largest payload on their 50th Falcon 9 launch

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket successfully lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 12:33am EST carrying the Hispasat 30W-6 satellite into a Geostationary Transfer Orbit. As Falcon slowely cleared the pad, it ascended as an orb of light into the clear Florida sky as the 9 Merlin engines powered it into flight. The first stage performed nominally and the second stage placed the satellite into its desired orbit with no problems on the vehicle.

The first stage for this mission was a new booster and was previously planned to land on the droneship for recovery, but that secondary objective was changed to a soft landing in the water since the waves in the landing area would be up to approximately 25ft tall.

The Hispasat 30W-6 satellite is the 4th satellite in the Hispasat constellation and will replace the Hispasat 30W-4 satellite. This satellite increases the capacity of the constellation and increases the amount of coverage across the globe. It will also bring broadband internet access to the area around North Africa and strengthen connections to Maritime vessels