Photos: Gantry retracted from Atlas 5

Ready to deliver 1.5 million pounds of thrust Thursday morning, an Atlas 5 rocket was rolled from its assembly building to the launch pad today for its national security satellite-deployment flight.

The Atlas 5 countdown leading up to Friday’s early morning liftoff from Cape Canaveral with Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule will be several hours longer than usual.

Watch a time-lapse video of the Atlas 5 rocket’s rollout at Cape Canaveral on Feb. 28, on the eve of liftoff with the GOES-S weather satellite.