Falcon 9 carried dual-band, six-ton mobile communications relay station Inmarsat I-6 F2 to orbit for Inmarsat, a British company.

The launch was at 10:59pm local time at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s SLC-40 complex. It was a cloudy, muggy evening as a cold front approached, but the weather was deemed good enough for the successful launch.

Unfortunately, due to some bad luck and lack of a backup plan, these photos were taken through the trees on the banks of the Indian River. The low cloud deck made the show a very brief one after liftoff, though from time to time the rocket glared through a gap in the clouds.