Photos: Tuesday’s Atlas 5 rollout

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.

Based upon an on-time launch Thursday, this is the timeline for Cygnus from liftoff through capture by the space station’s robotic arm.

The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, equipped with four strap-on solid-propellant boosters for added performance, was transfered from its assembly building to the pad at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 to deliver the GOES-R weather satellite into space.