KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — The launch forecast looked good as SpaceX sent up an Australian communications company’s satellite on Sunday evening.

The two-hour launch window for the TD7 Optus mission opened at 5:28 p.m. ET as the Falcon 9 rocket took off from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, stated SpaceX.

Originally, the rocket was going up at 4:29 p.m. ET and then it was pushed to 4:48 p.m. ET. No reason was given for the push back. 

The Falcon 9 rocket sent up the telecommunications satellite to a geosynchronous transfer orbit. Optus is a communications company that provides wireless, internet access and Optus Television to customers. The satellite was built by Northrop Grumman.

The 45th Weather Squadron gave about a 95% chance of good launch conditions with the only worry being the cumulus cloud rule.

Find out more about the weather criteria for a Falcon 9 launch.

If the launch was scrubbed, the next try would have been Monday at the same time.

Sweet 16

This will be the 16th mission for the first-stage booster, named B1077. This Falcon 9 rocket has sent up one crewed mission and a lot of satellites.

1. Crew-5
2. GPS III Space Vehicle 06
3. Inmarsat I-6 F2
4. CRS-28
5. Intelsat G-37
6. NG-20
7. Starlink mission 5-10
8. Starlink mission 6-13
9. Starlink mission 6-25
10. Starlink mission 6-33
11. Starlink mission 6-43
12. Starlink mission 6-51
13. Starlink mission 6-63
14. Starlink mission 10-4
15. Starlink 8-11

After the stage separation, the first-stage rocket landed on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas that is in the Atlantic Ocean.