SpaceX successfully completes their first Polar launch from Cape Canaveral, FL

Falcon 9 launching with SAOCOM 1B // Photo: SpaceX

This evening at 7:18pm EDT, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral, FL into a Polar Orbit around the Earth. A Polar Orbit is an orbit that follows North and South, instead of launching into an orbit that goes East and West. This is the first time a rocket has launched a payload into a polar orbit from Cape Canaveral since the 1960s, when the Air Force launched a rocket that experienced a failure, causing debris to fall toward Cuba and killing a cow.

The Falcon 9 lifted off on time, despite poor weather lingering in the area, and successfully flew down the coast of Florida with no issues. After stage separation the second stage ignited and the first stage flipped around, starting its burn back toward Cape Canaveral. The first stage guided itself back through the atmosphere, making a soft touchdown at Landing Zone 1, marking the 4th successful flight and recovery of this specific booster. The second stage continued into orbit and deployed the SAOCOM 1B satellite into a Polar Orbit around the Earth.