NASA launched the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft into orbit on September 8 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, and the launch was visible from the surrounding Cocoa Beach area.

This footage shows the Atlas V rocket carrying the OSIRIS-REx firing off into the sky from a distance.

The craft is set to land on the 1,640-foot-wide asteroid in August 2018. It will collect samples and return to Earth in September 2023, Space.com reported, quoting OSIRIS-REx principal investigator Dante Lauretta, who said the samples were going to be a “treasure trove” for scientists in the years to come. Credit: Christopher McCall