SpaceX launches and unloads Falcon 9 rocket as part of Radarsat mission

SpaceX on Wednesday launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, containing the Canadian Space Agency's Radarsat Earth Observation satellite trio. The show was broadcast live on the SpaceX YouTube channel. If you missed it as it happened, you can watch a replay of the launch.

Canada's three Radarsat satellites, shaped like old rubber stamps, will collect data on Canada's coastlines and waterways to help navigate ships in the Arctic, provide agricultural solutions and help first responders to save lives, according to the agency. The dimensions of the satellites are such that they are almost as big as a Tesla Roadster, but they are half as heavy. The satellites will eventually be placed in an orbit about 600 km above the Earth.

For SpaceX, this is another flight for the Falcon 9 rocket, which delivered the crew dragon to the International Space Station in March. The reminder of the first leg managed to land at Vandenberg after the separation.

After the Radarsat mission, SpaceX will launch the Falcon Heavy for the third time as part of the STP-2 mission. This is scheduled for June 24 (with a backup launch window on June 25). Considered one of the most difficult launches in the history of SpaceX, it will attempt to deploy a suite of satellites into orbit for the Department of Defense. It will also carry the Planetary Society's experimental solar sail, LightSail 2..

Provided that the Falcon Heavy kernel can be recovered from this mission, it will be the first such success for SpaceX, which has been unable to conserve the nucleus to fall into rough seas during the Arabsat mission.

Originally released June 12 at 6:18 am Pacific Time.
Update, 9:24 am: Adds information about the launch.