The 22-story Falcon 9 lifted off from SpaceX’s Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. carrying the Deep Space Climate Observatory satellite on SpaceX’s first deep space mission. Falcon 9 is a family of launch vehicles designed and manufactured by SpaceX, headquartered in Hawthorne, California. The family consists of the Falcon 9 v1.0, Falcon 9 v1.1, and the Falcon 9-R. Both stages of this two-stage-to-orbit vehicle are powered by rocket engines that burn liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene propellants.

credit: Official SpaceX Photos

The most beautiful space pictures you’ll ever see. Photographs of outer space are recorded for the purposes of science, but are also often breathtakingly beautiful images revealing the wonders of the universe.

The Helix nebula

Credit: ESO/VISTA/J. Emerson. Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit

Cluster and nebula NGC 1929

Credit: ESO/Manu Mejias

Omega nebula

Credit: ESO/INAF-VST/OmegaCAM. Acknowledgement: OmegaCen/Astro-WISE/Kapteyn Institute

NGC 2442

Credit: www.eso.org/public/news/eso1115/

NGC 2442

Credit: www.eso.org/public/news/eso1115/

Orion from Head to Toe

Credit: Rogelio Andreo  blog.deepskycolors.com

The hole in orion’s heart

Credit: Jesus Vargas and Maritxu Poyal

Spiral galaxy M96

Credit: ESO/Oleg Maliy

The Soap Bubble Nebula

Credit: T. A. Rector/University of Alaska Anchorage, H. Schweiker/WIYN and NOAO/AURA/NSF

NGC 7006

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

The Triangulum Galaxy

credit: KPNO, NOAO, AURA, Dr. Philip Massey

Abell 2744, the Pandora Cluster

Credit: NASA, ESA, ESO, CXC, and D. Coe (STScI)/J. Merten (Heidelberg/Bologna)

Cluster Omega Centauri

Credit: ESO/INAF-VST/OmegaCAM. Acknowledgement: A. Grado/INAF-Capodimonte Observatory

Globular cluster NGC 1846

Credit: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), with P. Goudfrooij (STScI)

thanks to thebadastronomer