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Launch Photos: SpaceX Falcon 9 Lofts 64 Satellites (and Lands) on Historic 3rd Flight

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The First Flight

SpaceX

SpaceX’s first “Block 5” Falcon 9 rocket launches from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on May 11, 2018. On May 24, President Donald Trump signed a new space policy directive that could ease regulations on SpaceX and other commercial spaceflight companies.

The Second Flight

SpaceX

SpaceX's first Block 5 Falcon 9 rocket launches the Indonesian communications satellite Merah Putih into space from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida on Aug. 7, 2018. The rocket launched the Merah Putih communications satellite into orbit for Telkcom Indonesia.

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Elizabeth Howell
Elizabeth Howell
Former Staff Writer, Spaceflight (July 2022-November 2024)

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., was a staff writer in the spaceflight channel between 2022 and 2024 specializing in Canadian space news. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years from 2012 to 2024. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House, leading world coverage about a lost-and-found space tomato on the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?" (ECW Press, 2022) is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams.