Timelapse of the staging sequence of Falcon Heavy as it soared to orbit off of the Florida coast on December 28, 2023. Top right are the final moments at full power, with bottom left the separation sequence and start of the side boosters returning to Cape Canaveral.
SpaceX and the US Space Force launched Falcon Heavy carrying the USSF-52 mission from Kennedy Space Center at 8:07pm Eastern Standard Time under partly-cloudy skies and huge crowds gathered in Titusville and Cape Canaveral. After separating from the core first stage of the rocket, the two side boosters arced across the sky and returned to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station safely some eight and a half minutes later.
