SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket on Monday morning at 12:45 a.m. ET from Cape Canaveral, Florida, after rain and cloudy weather delayed the launch by over an hour.
The rocket was carrying Canada’s Telstar 18 Vantage communication satellite. It was deployed approximately 32 minutes after lift off, according to SpaceX.
Successful deployment of Telstar 18 VANTAGE to a geostationary transfer orbit confirmed. <a href=”https://t.co/nlRgxoILJ9″>pic.twitter.com/nlRgxoILJ9</a>
—@SpaceX
The reusable rocket, tailored for eventual crewed missions for NASA, returned to earth following stage separation and landed safely on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.