Photos: Tuesday’s Atlas 5 rollout

The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket leaves Space Launch Complex 3-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on the NROL-42 satellite-deployment mission for the National Reconnaissance Office.

Delivering two-and-a-half million pounds of ground-shaking thrust at takeoff, more than any rocket flying from Cape Canaveral these days, the mighty vehicle was rolled from its assembly building to the launch pad Monday for Wednesday’s early morning blastoff.

NASA has selected six companies to work on designs for deep space habitat modules that could be used by astronauts living and working near the moon as technology is developed for eventual flights to Mars, the agency announced Tuesday.