December 3, 2013 - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 40 on a mission to deliver the 3.2-ton SES-8 communications satellite into orbit. The liftoff at 5:41 p.m. EST marked SpaceX's first entry into the large commercial satellite market and its first launch into a geosynchronous orbit.

The launch also marked the first flight of SpaceX's enhanced Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket from Florida and came after two aborted attempts last week due to technical glitches.

Photos taken from Port Canaveral; a distance of about 10 miles.