KSC-2015-1332

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying NOAA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory spacecraft, or DSCOVR, rises in the background as the countdown clock at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida reads 44 seconds into flight. The Falcon 9 launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 6:03 p.m. EST. DSCOVR is a partnership between NOAA, NASA and the U.S. Air Force, and will maintain the nation's real-time solar wind monitoring capabilities. To learn more about DSCOVR, visit http://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/DSCOVR. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin