SpaceX Launching First Private Rocket of 2014 Today: Watch It Live

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SpaceX's first Falcon 9 rocket to launch in 2014 sits atop its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida for a planned Jan. 6 launch.
SpaceX's first Falcon 9 rocket to launch in 2014 sits atop its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida for a planned Jan. 6 launch. The rocket will launch the Thaicom 6 communications satellite. (Image credit: SpaceX)

Private spaceflight firm SpaceX is blasting a telecommunications satellite into orbit today (Jan. 6), and you can watch all the fiery action live online.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the THAICOM 6 communications satellite is slated to launch from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station today at 5:06 p.m. EST (2206 GMT). You can watch the liftoff live here on SPACE.com beginning at 4:25 p.m. EST, courtesy of SpaceX.

If all goes according to plan, the Falcon 9 will deliver the satellite to its geosynchronous transfer orbit about 31 minutes after launch, SpaceX officials said.

The 6,650-pound (3,016 kilograms) THAICOM 6 satellite will provide telecommunications and broadcast services to people throughout southeast Asia. The spacecraft was built by Virgina-based aerospace firm Orbital Sciences for Thaicom, a company based in Thailand.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on SPACE.com.

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Mike Wall
Mike Wall
Senior Space Writer

Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.