Photos: Atlas 5 rolls out for launch

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 11:11 a.m. EDT (1511 GMT) today to boost Orbital ATK’s commercially-operated Cygnus cargo ship toward a Saturday rendezvous with the International Space Station. Follow the ascent in our live journal.

This is the launch timeline to be followed by the Atlas 5 rocket’s ascent into orbit from Cape Canaveral with the advanced GOES-R weather satellite for NASA and NOAA. Launch is scheduled for Saturday at 5:42 p.m. EST (2242 GMT).

NASA has agreed to consider a Boeing proposal to extend the first piloted test flight of its commercial CST-100 Starliner crew capsule from two weeks to up to six months with an extra crew member for the International Space Station, hedging against potential delays that could jeopardize U.S. crew access to the orbiting outpost.