In Photos: SpaceX's 1st Launch from NASA's Historic Pad 39A

SpaceX CRS-10 Launch: Mission Control

SpaceX

SpaceX flight controllers oversee the Falcon 9 and Dragon CRS-10 cargo launch for NASA from the company's mission operations center at its Hawthorne, California headquarters on Feb. 19, 2017. Read the Full Story | Launch Video | Rocket Landing Video

Falcon 9 Rocket Booster Views from Space

SpaceX

This still from a SpaceX webcast shows the Falcon 9 rocket's second stage engine nozzle (right) firing as it carries Dragon into orbit. Meanwhile, the a camera on the first stage booster shows grid-like control fins deployed for the return back to Earth. Read the Full Story | Launch Video | Rocket Landing Video

Liftoff for Falcon 9!

SpaceX

Another launch view from SpaceX's CRS-10 webcast. Read the Full Story | Launch Video | Rocket Landing Video

SpaceX Falcon 9 on Pad 39A

NASA TV

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is seen atop NASA's Launch Pad 39A ahead of a Dragon cargo launch to the International Space Station on Feb. 19, 2017. Read the Full Story | Launch Video | Rocket Landing Video

Dragon, Falcon 9 Just Before Liftoff

SpaceX

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo capsule just minutes before their planned liftoff on Feb. 18, 2017. SpaceX called the attempt off to investigate an issue with the rocket's second-stage engine.

SpaceX Falcon 9 on Pad 39A

SpaceX

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket stands vertical on NASA's historic Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 16, 2016.

SpaceX Falcon 9 on Pad 39A

SpaceX

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo ship stand atop NASA's Launch Pad 39A for a Feb. 18, 2017 launch. It will be SpaceX's first launch from the historic NASA pad, which saw launches for Apollo moon missions, Skylab and the space shuttle program.

Launch Pad 39A Under SpaceX

SpaceX

Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida seen in November 2015 as it was undergoing modifications to adapt it to the needs of SpaceX's Falcon rockets.

SpaceX-10, Ready and Waiting

Glenn Benson/NASA

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon space capsule rests on Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 17, 2017. This is SpaceX's 10th cargo resupply mission for NASA.

Sunset Over Falcon 9

Glenn Benson/NASA

The sun sets over SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket atop NASA's Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39A in Cape Canaveral, Florida on Feb. 16, 2017 ahead of the company's 10th cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station for the space agency.

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Hanneke Weitering
Contributing expert

Hanneke Weitering is a multimedia journalist in the Pacific Northwest reporting on the future of aviation at FutureFlight.aero and Aviation International News and was previously the Editor for Spaceflight and Astronomy news here at Space.com. As an editor with over 10 years of experience in science journalism she has previously written for Scholastic Classroom Magazines, MedPage Today and The Joint Institute for Computational Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. After studying physics at the University of Tennessee in her hometown of Knoxville, she earned her graduate degree in Science, Health and Environmental Reporting (SHERP) from New York University. Hanneke joined the Space.com team in 2016 as a staff writer and producer, covering topics including spaceflight and astronomy. She currently lives in Seattle, home of the Space Needle, with her cat and two snakes. In her spare time, Hanneke enjoys exploring the Rocky Mountains, basking in nature and looking for dark skies to gaze at the cosmos.