Stunning images shared on social media captured the moment when lightning struck the launch pad as SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket awaited launch on Thursday, April 27. Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida suffered severe weather and was warned of both lightning and tornadoes, causing the Falcon Heavy’s launch attempt to be aborted. (It will begin on April 30.)

Cameras placed around the launch pad captured lightning strikes to the guard post at the top of the fixed turret on Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A). The mast is designed to safely direct the electrical charge from the rocket on the launch pad to the ground.

The day after a hail, hurricane and lightning storm, SpaceX halted operations. on your Twitter account engineering teams performed additional inspections on Falcon Heavy, payload and ground support equipment.

These checks showed that the lightning rod was functioning properly and was protecting the rocket and its payload from damage. Spaceflight Now shared an incredible video of the impact from the launch pad on Twitter, showing the awe-inspiring power of nature as lightning lights up the stormy Florida sky.

The launch, aimed at sending the ViaSat-3 Americas satellite into orbit, was rescheduled for 19:29 EST (23:29 GMT) on Friday, April 28, but was again delayed. Falcon Heavy finally flew the 14,000-pound (6,400-kilogram) broadband satellite at 20:26 EDT (0026 GMT) on Sunday, April 30.

It was the sixth flight of the Falcon Heavy rocket, consisting of three interlocking first-stage units of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. This particular flight also carried a communications satellite called Arcturus, which will be operated by San Francisco-based Astranis Space Technologies. and a cube IoT satellite called GS-1, which will be operated by Washington’s Gravity Space.