NASA and SpaceX launched the GOES-U weather satellite for NOAA today from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center at 05:26 PM EDT, ten minutes after the launch window opened, with thunderstorms looming in the distance. With mission managers satisfied that the storms would not affect either the launch of landings of Falcon Heavy, the launch proceeded as planned.

Around 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the two side booster used for the mission returned and safely landed at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, while the center core booster was expended and not recovered.

The satellite was safely delivered into its initial orbit and, after separating from Falcon Heavy’s second stage, it will continue under its own power to its final location in geosynchronous orbit, where it will undergo a commissioning process prior to its entering service for NOAA. SpaceX announced a successful deployment just before 10 PM EDT, marking a successful mission that had begun roughly 4.5 hours earlier.