DSCOVR Launches Aboard SpaceX Falcon 9

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched into orbit at 6:03 p.m. EST (2303 GMT) carrying the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR), a satellite designed to serve as an early-warning system for potentially dangerous solar storms. SpaceX was initially schedule to deliver the satellite on Sunday, but a series of delays pushed the launch to today. Video of the SpaceX launch showed the rocket soaring serenely into the sunset sky above its Cape Canaveral Air Force Station launch site in Florida.

After delivering the satellite to space, the Falcon 9 rocket's first stage was initially expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere for a landing attempt on a SpaceX drone ship parked in the Atlantic. Representatives with the spaceflight company, however, decided not to attempt the drone ship landing due to bad weather in the ocean at the landing site. [See the DSCOVR mission in photos]