SpaceX launches Falcon Heavy rocket carrying Jupiter 3 communications satellite

ORLANDO, Fla. - Florida Space Coast residents heard some sonic booms on Friday shortly after SpaceX launched a school-bus-sized satellite on the Falcon Heavy rocket.

SpaceX sent the rocket into orbit at 11:04 p.m. ET.  The payload included the Jupiter 3 (Echostar XXIV) communications satellite from Kennedy Space Center Launchpad 39A. The launch was slated for Wednesday evening but was scrubbed with about a minute left in the countdown. It had been rescheduled for Thursday evening, but the space company said it needed more time for "vehicle checkouts" and that weather was more favorable for a launch on Friday.

READ MORE: Sonic booms will be heard along Florida's Space Coast following Falcon Heavy launch on Friday

Before NASA's Space Launch System rocket launch to the Moon last year, Falcon Heavy was the world's most powerful rocket. The Falcon Heavy has 27 Merlin engines and three first-stage boosters compared to SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, with one first-stage booster and nine Merlin engines. 

About eight minutes after launch, the two side rocket boosters returned to land at Cape Canaveral Landing Zones 1 and 2. As the rockets returned to Earth, breaking the sound barrier, people across Central Florida felt and heard the double sonic booms.

Falcon 9 rocket launches Starlink satellites from Florida

SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 22 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit early Friday.

Liftoff from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Base in Florida happened at 12:01 a.m. ET., becoming SpaceX's 50th mission of the year. 

This is the 15th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched GPS III Space Vehicle 04, GPS III Space Vehicle 05, Inspiration4, Ax-1, Nilesat 301, OneWeb Launch 17, ARABSAT BADR-8, and seven Starlink missions. 

Following stage separation, the first stage landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.