Lockheed Martin successfully launched the U.S. Air Force's DSCS B8 communications satellite on January 21 from Cape Canaveral Air Station. Source: Lockheed Martin. Image copyright: Spaceflight Now.

Waiting to fly The mobile service tower rolls away from the Lockheed Martin Atlas 2A rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Station's pad 36A in the final hours before liftoff.
Shark on the nose A shark's face is painted on the rocket's payload fairing, a tradition for U.S. Air Force launches from Cape Canaveral Air Station.
Fueled and waiting Vapors stream from the Atlas rocket and its Centaur upper stage. During the countdown, super-cold liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen was loaded aboard the rocket.
Ignition! The three liquid-fueled engines at the Atlas rocket rumble to life moments before launch at pad 36A.
First of millennium The Lockheed Martin Atlas 2A rocket lifts off, becoming the first space launch of the new millennium.
Rolling on course Under control of its onboard guidance system, the Atlas rocket completes a roll maneuver to the proper launch trajectory.
Riding on 3 engines The two booster and one sustainer engines power the Atlas rocket skyward during the first minutes of launch.
Like a comet The Atlas rocket streaks through the nighttime sky following liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Station.
Engines away The booster package, the bottom structure of the Atlas rocket with two MA-5A engines, is jettisoned in a bright flash of light.
In the moonlight Illuminated by a bright moon, the Atlas rocket's booster package falls toward the Atlantic Ocean below.