Photos: Tuesday’s Atlas 5 rollout

Japan deployed the first of three navigation satellites it intends to launch in the next year Thursday, sending a 4.4-ton spacecraft on the way to an high-altitude orbital perch on top of an H-2A rocket to improve positioning data for drivers, hikers and government agencies in East Asia.

For the second day running, bad weather at Cape Canaveral forced the postponement of the NROL-52 satellite launch. Today, the weather officer stopped the countdown with 97 seconds left.

India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle lifted off at 2234 GMT (6:34 p.m. EDT) Wednesday with the country’s ninth navigation satellite, bolstering a regional positioning and timing network after the loss of a navigation craft on a previous PSLV mission last year.