Photos: Tuesday’s Atlas 5 rollout

A new class of Boeing-built spacecraft will fly into orbit for the first time Sunday aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, combining Boeing’s electric propulsion technology with SpaceX’s bargain launch prices to send up communications satellites at a fraction of the typical cost.

An Air Force missile detection spacecraft will, effectively, lose its position in the Atlas 5 rocket’s cramped manifest over the next few months after the flight-worthiness of a thruster on the satellite was called into question and delayed its Oct. 3 liftoff date.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said this week the space agency is not unduly delaying the debut of new SpaceX and Boeing commercial crew capsules as engineers gear up for a challenging rapid-fire sequence of test flights in the next few months, all against the backdrop of in-depth safety reviews before clearing the privately-owned ships to carry astronauts.