Be Amazed! SpaceX's Spectacular Iridium-4 Launch in Photos

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket arcs over city lights of Southern California in this long-exposure of the launch of 10 Iridium Next satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Dec. 22, 2017.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket streaks into space carrying 10 Iridium Next communications satellites in this long-exposure view of the launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Dec. 22, 2017.

Photographer Erica Kelly Martin captured this amazing view of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket soaring over the palm trees of Hollywood, California after its launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Dec. 22, 2017.

A SpaceX Falcon rocket soars into space in this stunning view from SpaceX’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California. A used Falcon 9 first stage stands in the foreground.

SpaceX’s dazzling Falcon 9 rocket launch only added to the festive holiday lights for Jennifer Garrison of Apple Valley, California, who captured this view from Big Bear on Dec. 22, 2017.

Skywatcher Jennifer Garrison and her two sons Nicholas, 8, and Ethan, 5, observe SpaceX’s dazzling rocket launch from their location in Big Bear, California on Dec. 22, 2017.

A used SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California to deliver 10 Iridium Next communications satellites into orbit on Dec. 22, 2017.

Skywatcher Jeff Ladderud captured this view of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch of Dec. 22, 2017 from Tucson, Arizona. “It was only taken with an iPhone camera, so quality isn’t stellar; but I was impressed that we could see the launch all the way from Tucson, AZ–some 575 miles away!” he told Space.com.

Skywatcher Rafael Vecchi caught this view of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launch on Dec. 22 from his seat on an airplane flying from Phoenix to Salt Lake City. “The pilot came on the intercom to say that there was something he had never seen out the left window. He probably didn’t mean to say it like that, but it was unsettling to hear your pilot say that. So we all crowded to the windows. A few minutes he came on to say it was a rocket launcher from Vandenberg Air Force Base. I’ve read Elon Musk’s biography and have watched some YouTube live launches, and it was amazing to see it in person,” Vecchi said.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket seen here launching 10 Iridium Next satellites on Dec. 22, 2017 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California was actually making its second flight. The rocket’s first stage booster launched 10 more Iridium Next satellites into orbit in June 2017.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket ascends spaceward carrying 10 Iridium Next communications satellite after launching from Space Launch Complex 4E of Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Dec. 22, 2017.

SpaceX’s two-stage Falcon 9 booster lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California tonight (Dec. 22) at 11:27 p.m. EST (0427 on Dec. 23 GMT), carrying 10 communications satellites for the commercial Iridium Next constellation.

The SpaceX mission patch for the Iridium-4 mission.