Photos: Atlas 5 rolls out for launch

Sky-watchers with a passion for looking up and tracking satellites with remarkable precision have made quick work of locating the spacecraft launched atop an Atlas 5 rocket on Thursday.

An Ariane 5 rocket launched Tuesday at 2101 GMT (4:01 p.m. EST) from French Guiana with a communications satellite to provide broadband and television services for the government of Saudi Arabia and commercial clients across Europe and the Middle East, and an Indian payload to help bridge the digital divide in South Asia.

The United Launch Alliance Delta 4 Medium+ (5,4) rocket lifted off Wednesday at 6:53 p.m. EST (2353 GMT) from Cape Canaveral to deploy the latest craft for the U.S. military’s Wideband Global SATCOM communications satellite constellation.