Photos: SpaceX Launches JCSAT-14 Satellite, Lands Rocket at Sea

SpaceX's JCSAT-14 Mission Lifts Off

SpaceX

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket rises off the pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida carrying the JCSAT-14 communications satellite on May 6, 2016.

Falcon 9 Takes Flight

SpaceX

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launches the JCSAT-14 communications satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on May 6, 2016.

Falcon 9 and JCSAT-14 Rise into the Sky

SpaceX

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and the JCSAT-14 communications satellite lift off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on May 6, 2016.

JCSAT-14 Launch: Long View

SpaceX

Long view of the launch of the JCSAT-14 communications satellite atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on May 6, 2016.

Falcon 9, JCSAT-14 Blaze a Trail

SpaceX

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket carves an arc of light into the sky above Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station as it launches the JCSAT-14 communications satellite on May 6, 2016.

Bullseye! Falcon 9 on Drone Ship

SpaceX

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket hit its target precisely on May 6, 2016, landing in the center of the deck of the drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You."

Falcon 9's Landing Legs

SpaceX

Close-up view showing the landing legs on the Falcon 9, which touched down on a robotic droneship in the Atlantic Ocean on May 6, 2016.

Falcon 9's Battle Scars

SpaceX

Coming back down through Earth's atmosphere on May 6, 2016 left some marks on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 Rocket Sticks Its Landing

SpaceX

The first stage of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket sits on the deck of the droneship "Of Course I Still Love You" seconds after landing successfully during a May 6, 2016 launch.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 Rocket on Pad With JCSAT-14 Satellite

SpaceX

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket sits on the pad with the JCSAT-14 communications satellite at Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station ahead of a May 6, 2016 launch.

Falcon 9 and JCSAT-14 on the Pad

SpaceX

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and the JCSAT-14 spacecraft sit on Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on May 5, 2016.

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Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.