Photos: Atlas 5 rolls out for launch

Mission leaders Tuesday gave approval for rollout of the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket on Wednesday morning, leading to liftoff Thursday night of the Magnetospheric Multiscale science project for NASA.

SpaceX says engineers completed checks of the Falcon Heavy rocket, its satellite payloads, and ground systems at the Kennedy Space Center after a lightning strike on the launch pad’s tower Thursday night, part of a wave of severe weather that forced officials to delay the launch attempt.

Watch a replay of the Atlas 5 rocket launch with the GOES-S weather satellite from Cape Canaveral, as seen from the Kennedy Space Center press site around 4 miles from the launch pad.