SpaceX & Space News on Instagram: "United Launch Alliance launched Vulcan just hours ago on the USSF-87 mission, delivering classified Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program payloads to geosynchronous orbit. A brief solid rocket booster anomaly was seen shortly after liftoff, but the vehicle compensated and successfully completed the mission! Credit @ulalaunch #rocket #launch #usa"

United Launch Alliance on Instagram: "Generating three million pounds of thrust as it soars to geosynchronous orbit on the U.S. Space Force’s USSF-87 mission, continuing ULA’s legacy of serving our national security interests in space. #vulcanrocket #USSF"

Bluedodt on Instagram: "A striking example of orbital geometry: NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) has captured moments where Earth blocks the Sun from SDO’s viewpoint while the Moon begins crossing the Sun’s face too. It happens during SDO’s eclipse seasons because the spacecraft sits in a geosynchronous orbit, meaning Earth can briefly line up to eclipse the Sun in its field of view. Events like this are rare-looking, but they’re a predictable result of the spacecraft’s orbit, the Moon’s