Photos: Atlas 5 sets sail to orbit

A windowless, robotic space shuttle with stubby wings, two tail fins, its belly covered with black thermal tiles, clam-shell doors that swing open to reveal a small payload bay and a solar array that unfurls for powering ultralong-duration missions rode back into orbit Wednesday on the fourth mission of the Air Force’s reusable X-37B spaceplane project.

Photo credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Scriptunas Images

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See our earlier launch coverage.