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SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket delivers communications satellite into orbit

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket early Thursday on a mission to deliver the EchoStar 23 communications satellite into orbit.

The rocket blasted off from Kennedy Space Center's historic Pad 39A -- the pad from which most of the Apollo missions launched -- at 2 a.m.

Some spectators braved the cold to witness the launch in person.

“We came here for this,” said Sherry Lott of South Carolina. “(We) knew they were going to have a launch, so we are down here for the week for this.”

Toby Brown said it was worth staying up for.

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“I kind of expected the ground to shake and to feel the big boom,” he said. “I waited and waited. And, finally, it happened, and I'm happy.”

The satellite will beam television programming to customers in Brazil.

Unlike previous missions, the company didn't try to land the the first stage of the rocket.

The satellite weighs 12,000 pounds -- the rocket’s heaviest payload ever.

Watch the rocket launch below: