KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL –  After a two-day delay when last minute poor weather intervened to scrub liftoff, spectators were thrilled to watch the first SpaceX Falcon Heavy to sail skyward in over a year and a half from Florida’s Space Coast to deliver a massive next generation commercial communications satellite to orbit for Viasat.

Liftoff of the 12^th SpaceX Falcon Heavy finally took place 10:13 a.m. ET Wednesday, April 29, from Launch Complex-39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. – carrying the six-ton Viasat-3 F3 next gen comsat to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO).

The giant triple stick 229.6 ft (70-meter) tall Falcon rocket thundered off pad 39A right at the opening of the 85-minute long  window.

This morning we were greeted by mostly clear skies and no threats of rain, winds and thunder – unlike what rolled into the Kennedy Space Center and Launch Complex-39 on Monday April 27.

Eight minutes later the two side boosters nailed their landings accompanied by shockingly loud sonic booms

Enjoy our photos by Ken Kremer and Jean Wright for Space UpClose

This launch counts as the first Falcon Heavy mission since Oct. 2024 on NASAs Europa Clipper science mission to Jupiters icy moon Europa.

Viasat-3 F3 was successfully deployed to GTO from the upper stage about 5 hours after liftoff as planned

Viasat-3 F3 is the third and final satellite in the 3-satellite Viasat-3 constellation – and will serve millions of customers in the Asia Pacific region.

The first one was also launched on a 3 core SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket

“ViaSat‑3 F1 in service since 2024 and ViaSat‑3 F2’s in-orbit testing advancing, the launch of F3 positions Viasat to further scale global capacity and performance,” said Viasat.

The 23-story tall triple stick Falcon Heavy generates over 5 million pounds of liftoff thrust from a combined 27 Merlin 1D first stage engines

SpaceX’s live webcast went live approximately 15 minutes before Falcon Heavy’s liftoff at spacex.com/launches.

Carlsbad, Calif, based Viasat announced that the launch was successful with initial signal acquisition of the ViaSat-3 Flight 3 (F3) satellite.

“The satellite successfully separated from the launch vehicle’s upper stage just under five hours after liftoff, with initial signals acquired minutes later, confirming the satellite is healthy in orbit and ready for the next phase of operations,” said Viasat

The triple core Falcon Heavy is comprised of a brand new center core with tail number B1098, that will be expended, and two side cores with tail numbers B1072 and B1075

One of the side boosters on this mission previously supported SDA-0A, SARah-2, Transporter-11, and 18 Starlink missions, and the second previously supported launch of the GOES-U mission.

For the first time the two twin side boosters will land at separate locations – not side by side at LZ-1 and LZ-2 – at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.

The LZ-1 property has been turned over and leased by the Space Force to another rocket company for launch operations

Following stage separation and about eight minutes after liftoff, Falcon Heavy’s two side boosters landed on SpaceX’s Landing Zones 2 and Landing Zone 40 (LZ-2 and LZ-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

We heard numerous loud and shocking sonic booms more than a few moments apart since the landing zones were separated by a few miles here on the Florida Space Coast and Brevard county

Elsewhere, residents of Brevard, Orange, Osceola, Indian River, Seminole, Volusia, Polk, St. Lucie, and Okeechobee County counties may have heard one or more sonic booms during the landing, but what residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions.

“Following its successful launch, the satellite will now deploy its solar arrays and begin navigating to its final geostationary orbital location,” Viasat added.

“Then, ViaSat-3 F3 will undergo final deployments, including its reflectors, before undergoing in-orbit testing and network integration, which is critical to effective operations and services. ViaSat-3 F3 is currently anticipated to enter service in late summer.”

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