SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Lifts Off at Dawn in Florida

Storyful

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 53 Starlink satellites launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday morning, May 18.

SpaceX said the satellites will be positioned into low-Earth orbit.

This video, recorded by Instagram user @chitownchica, shows the rocket launching across the Florida horizon at sunrise.

The first stage of the rocket landed on a droneship, SpaceX said. Credit: @chitownchica via Storyful

Video Transcript

- You can see there [INAUDIBLE]. We're coming up on the T minus one minute mark. At that time--

- T minue one minute to the launch.

- Take over the launch countdown. of SpaceX's Starlink satellite. Here we go.

- There it is. Falcon 9 is now in startup, and we're just waiting final--

- Beautiful sunrise here at the cape. I'm watching from Titusville, actually, right now. Starlink 418 you are go for launch.

- Go for launch.

- We are go for launch.

- All systems are go for launch so let's watch as Falcon 9 takes our 53 Starlink satellites into space.

- T minus 30 seconds.

- Oh, there it goes.

- I see, I see it. ooh, there It goes.

- T minus 15. T minus 10, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. and liftoff.

- Yay, looking good so far.

- [INAUDIBLE]

- Awesome. Ooh, do you feel that?

- Falcon 9 has successfully lifted off launch Complex 39a, carrying our 53 Starlink satellites into space.

[ROCKET ENGINE RUMBLING]

- On the first stage, this is in preparation for max-q. Max-q is the maximum dynamic pressure that the vehicle sees on ascent.

- Falcon 9 is supersonic.

- [INAUDIBLE] Max-q should be coming up here.

- There's Max-q right there. Oh wow, my ears.

- Max-q. And there's that [INAUDIBLE] just passed through max-q. [INAUDIBLE] is where all nine of those engines that you can see up on your screen, that's where those engines will shut down. And that helps slow the vehicle down

- Wow, that was gorgeous launch.

- [INAUDIBLE] separates from one another. First stage will start to make its way back home here on Earth. The second stage continues on its jour--