Photos: Pad cameras capture Atlas 5 launch

After completing a countdown dress rehearsal, Astra is gearing up for its first orbital launch attempt this week from Kodiak Island, Alaska, but company officials said it will likely take multiple test flights before the new small satellite launcher successfully reaches orbit.

DigitalGlobe’s 360 virtual reality preview of Friday’s WorldView 4 satellite launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

Navigation satellites, communications spacecraft, classified missions, NASA science projects and the Orbital Sciences Cygnus cargo ship destined for the International Space Station are on the United Launch Alliance manifest for the new year.