Cape Canaveral, United States – On March 10, 2026, at 12:19 a.m. ET, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, carrying the 15,000-pound EchoStar XXV communications satellite.

The rocket’s nine Merlin engines ignited under the night sky, producing intense orange flames and billowing white smoke that lit up the launch pad and surrounding structures. It ascended vertically with a bright exhaust plume trailing behind, arcing over calm waters as golden flames engulfed the pad.

Onboard footage captured the first-stage booster descending through the atmosphere, surrounded by a glowing reddish-purple plasma sheath from re-entry heating. The booster fired its engines for a controlled burn and touched down vertically on the autonomous droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean, landing safely amid lingering vapor.

About 35 minutes after liftoff, EchoStar XXV was deployed into geosynchronous transfer orbit. Built by Maxar Technologies, the satellite will maneuver to a geostationary position at 110 degrees West to provide enhanced direct broadcast television services for DISH Network customers across North America.

This mission marked SpaceX’s 30th orbital launch of 2026 and the 14th flight for the reusable booster, which previously supported missions including Crew-9 and several Starlink deployments. No anomalies were reported during the flight or booster recovery.

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