SpaceX rang in the new year with a spectacular nighttime launch

SpaceX rang in the new year a few days early with a spectacular nighttime launch from California, carrying an Israeli reconnaissance satellite into orbit

The Israeli Earth-imaging satellite EROS C-3 was launched into orbit late Thursday night (Dec. 29) by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, about 15 minutes after leaving Earth

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Liftoff occurred at 11:38 p.m. PST at the launch site (2:38 a.m. EST/0738 GMT), with the Falcon 9's first stage landing about 8 minutes later at a nearby SpaceX pad

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EROS C-3, or Earth Resources Observation Satellite C3, is a satellite designed to allow "defence and intelligence organisations to conduct operations with complete confidentiality and data protection

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The first-ever EROS satellite, EROS A, was launched in 2000 and reentered Earth's atmosphere in 2006. Little information is available about the active members of the fleet (EROS-B, EROS-C1 and EROS C2), presumably due to security concerns

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SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launched retrograde to (against) Earth's rotation in order to place EROS-C3 in low Earth orb

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SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launched retrograde to (against) Earth's rotation in order to place EROS-C3 in low Earth orb

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