Video: Liftoff of Atlas 5 rocket with Mexico’s Morelos 3

Our comprehensive fact sheet previewing the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket deployment of NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-M.

An unmanned cargo freighter carrying nearly four tons of supplies and science, launched and operated commercially for NASA, blasted off from Cape Canaveral on Tuesday atop an Atlas 5 rocket bound for the International Space Station.

The scheduled launch Saturday of two commercial BlackSky Earth-imaging satellites from New Zealand will double as an opportunity for Rocket Lab to test an enhanced heat shield on its Electron booster, an upgrade that should allow the company to recover rockets in better condition for eventual reuse.