Photos: Atlas 5 rolls out for launch

On the eve of its scheduled flight for U.S. national security interests, the United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket stands quietly inside the protective gantry at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 37 pad.

The U.S. military’s next GPS navigation satellite moved to a SpaceX launch facility late Thursday at Cape Canaveral, ready for attachment with a Falcon 9 rocket for liftoff June 30 to take the place of an aging GPS spacecraft launched from Florida’s Space Coast more than 20 years ago.

SpaceX and United Launch Alliance have split up to $645 million in new contracts to deploy U.S. Air Force navigation and surveillance satellites into orbit from 2019 through 2021.