From spaceweather.com. See for yourself.
FALCON HEAVY LAUNCH: The second most powerful rocket in the world lifted off from Cape Canaveral last night, delivering national security payloads to orbit for the US military. (?) Moments after launch, Pete Lardizabal photographed the Falcon Heavy roaring above St Johns, Florida:
“We had cool, clear skies for a beautiful view of this early evening launch,” says Lardizabal.
The mission took off at 5:56 p.m. ET, marking the fifth successful flight of the rocket only recently dethroned by NASA’s Space Launch System as the world’s most powerful.
The first launch of a Falcon Heavy back in 2018 famously carried Elon Musk’s cherry red Tesla Roadster into space. Last night’s primary payload was a communications satellite for the US Space Force. !
Two and a half minutes after launch, the Falcon Heavy’s side-boosters detached themselves from the main rocket and reoriented to plunge back through Earth’s atmosphere. Lardizabal photographed that, too:
As the falling boosters neared the ground, they reignited their engines for a synchronized landing on ground pads. It’s a signature move for SpaceX, which routinely recovers and reuses rocket boosters to drive down costs.
more images: from Conrad Pope of Wilmington, North Carolina; from Dr. Gilbert Plumer of Rockledge, Florida; from Brent of Orlando, Florida;