CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The weather held up this Thursday for the Space Coast to see two launches in one day. It's the first of its kind so far this year.
The busy day came to a close Thursday evening in Cape Canaveral after SpaceX launched an orbiter into space. Earlier in the day, United Launch Alliance also had a successful launch.
A ULA Atlas 5 rocket blasted off at 6:29 a.m. from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station - Space Launch Complex 41. The rocket is the sixth and final Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (SBIRS GEO 6) spacecraft for the U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command (SSC), according to ULA.
As the dust settled, SpaceX put together the final touches to launch at 7:08 p.m. from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station - SLC 40. SpaceX Falcon 9 KPLO is a lunar orbiter designed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) and South Korea's first lunar mission.
The objective of the mission is to "develop indigenous lunar exploration technologies, demonstrate a "space internet" and conduct scientific investigations of the lunar environment, topography and resources, as well as identify potential landing sites for future missions," Kennedy Space Center says.
Take a look at the launch here.
Following Thursday's launches, another SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to liftoff on Aug. 9. We won't see another launch until the end of August when Artemis 1 heads to space.