The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket unleashes two million pounds of thrust at 7:19 p.m. to blast off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on the NROL-35 mission.
Follow the unclassified portion of the Atlas 5 rocket’s ascent to space from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base launch site with the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office’s NROL-79 satellite payload. Launch is scheduled for Wednesday at 9:50 a.m. local time (12:50 p.m. EST; 1750 GMT).
Juno left the Earth atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket on Aug. 5, 2011, beginning its journey to Jupiter atop the most powerful Atlas variant with five side-mounted boosters. It arrives at the gas giant on Monday.
View photos of Thursday’s spectacular sunset launch from Cape Canaveral of a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket with the U.S. Air Force’s seventh Wideband Global SATCOM communications platform.