# SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket flew for the first time in 18 months on Wednesday (April 29) The Falcon Heavy launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida.

*aerospace · news · 2026-04-30 · Space.com*

## Key points

- SpaceX's Falcon Heavy launched the ViaSat-3 F3 satellite after an 18-month hiatus.
- BlackSky's Gen-3 satellite captured both pre-launch and post-liftoff images of Falcon Heavy.
- Gen-3 satellites can resolve ground features as small as 13.8 inches from low Earth orbit.
- Four Gen-3 Earth-observing spacecraft have been launched by BlackSky so far.
- Gen-3 satellites demonstrated time-diverse imaging by photographing the rocket at different stages.

**Companies:** SpaceX, BlackSky
**Countries:** United States

[Read the full story on Space.com](https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spacex-falcon-heavy-launch-seen-from-space-satellite-photos)

---

Canonical: https://newsio.io/n/7ad69bc4-22ce-47af-abb3-b8c8779512d7/spacexs-falcon-heavy-rocket-flew-for-the-first-time-in-18-months-on-wednesday-ap
Summarized by Newsio from Space.com. https://newsio.io/how-it-works