Photos: Delta 2 rocket blasts off with SMAP satellite

Returning to the days of rollouts and launches in a span of only a few hours, the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 program is looking to resume this whirlwind experience.

More than two dozen satellites from the U.S. military, NASA and research institutions will ride into orbit on SpaceX’s second Falcon Heavy rocket launch, a mission currently scheduled for liftoff in June, a military spokesperson said.

A shoebox-sized satellite conceived and funded by members of the Planetary Society, an advocacy organization co-founded by Carl Sagan, is fastened to an Atlas 5 rocket for launch Wednesday to test one of the late celebrity-astronomer’s futuristic concepts for exploring the cosmos.