Photos: Predawn launch of Atlas 5

Air Force meteorologists on this Good Friday have released their initial forecast for Tuesday’s launch of a cargo ship to the International Space Station, predicting favorable conditions to fly the Atlas 5 booster on a commercial mission.

The last of NASA’s current-generation tracking and data relay satellites designed to link mission control with the International Space Station has been assigned for launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket in October 2017, officials announced Friday.

NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will be geared up for the long haul when they launch from the Kennedy Space Center on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft later this month, but they won’t know exactly how long they will be in orbit until they are already aboard the International Space Station.