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SpaceX rocket launch from Vandenberg lights up early morning sky in Pismo

By Janene Scully
The rocket launch of Iridium 7 by SpaceX from Vandenberg Air Force Base took place at 4:39 Wednesday morning. The rocket carried 10 Iridum NEXT satellites. This 30 second exposure shows the early moments of the flight with the Pismo Beach pier in the foreground.
The rocket launch of Iridium 7 by SpaceX from Vandenberg Air Force Base took place at 4:39 Wednesday morning. The rocket carried 10 Iridum NEXT satellites. This 30 second exposure shows the early moments of the flight with the Pismo Beach pier in the foreground. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com

An upgraded SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and its cargo of 10 commercial communication satellites blasted off Wednesday morning from Vandenberg Air Force Base for the campaign to rebuild the innovative Iridium Next constellation.

The two-stage booster, standing 230 feet tall, lifted off at 4:39 a.m. from Space Launch Complex-4 on South Base, climbing into still-dark and foggy skies en route to delivering the Iridium Next satellites.

“Thank you @SpaceX for another awesome flight,” Iridium Chief Executive Officer Matt Desch said on his Twitter account, adding that “all 10 satellites have checked in.”

Wednesday’s liftoff marked the second-to-last for completing the Iridium Next constellation with the eighth and final launch reportedly planned for September to push the total of spacecraft to 75 in orbit.

Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com.
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