TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — SpaceX successfully launched the first of two of its Falcon 9 rockets within hours of each other from Florida on Wednesday.
The first Valentine’s Day launch took place at 5:30 p.m. from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The mission, USSF-124, sent several satellites into orbit for the U.S. Department of Defense.
The second launch is scheduled for Thursday at 1:05 a.m. Falcon 9 will carry a lunar lander – named Odysseus – to space, where it will go on to land “softly” on the surface of the moon, according to Intuitive Machines, the private company behind the mission.
Once on the moon, Odysseus will take measurements and conduct various experiments for NASA over seven days before lunar night reaches the moon’s south pole. At that point, it will become inoperable and power down for good.
After each launch, the Falcon 9 boosters will return to the surface and land at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The boosters successfully landed on the surface following the first launch on Wednesday.