Photos: Atlas 5 rolls out for launch

Departing Cape Canaveral at 8:37 a.m. EDT Thursday, the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted a classified national security satellite into orbit for deployment.

Animation depicts the flight of Boeing’s Starliner commercial crew capsule, ascending into orbit atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket to reach the International Space Station and re-entry to make an airbag-cushioned touchdown on land.

The top secret intelligence-gathering payload for the U.S. government set for launch Tuesday on top of a Delta 4-Heavy rocket is likely the next in a line of sensitive eavesdropping satellites designed to intercept radio signals and other communications traffic from adversaries around the world.