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Science and commercial satellites launched from California

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In this photo provided by NASA, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is seen with the NASA/German Research Centre for Geosciences GRACE Follow-On spacecraft and onboard, Monday, May 21, 2018, at Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The mission will measure changes in how mass is redistributed within and among Earth\'s atmosphere, oceans, land and ice sheets, as well as within Earth itself. GRACE-FO is sharing its ride to orbit with five Iridium NEXT communications satellites as part of a commercial ride-share agreement. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying two U.S.-German science satellites and five commercial communications satellites has blasted off from the central California coast.

The rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at Tuesday and arced over the Pacific Ocean west of Los Angeles as it headed toward the South Pole.

The science payload from NASA and the German Centre for Geosciences includes two identical satellites for the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment.

The mission is designed to detect the movement of Earth’s water masses and changes in mass within the planet by measuring tiny fluctuations in the distance between the two satellites as they orbit together.

The commercial payload will increase Iridium Communications’ globe-circling fleet to 55 next-generation satellites.

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