Photos: Atlas 5 rocket soars from West Coast

Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket will deliver a Cygnus supply ship into orbit Wednesday to begin a day-and-a-half pursuit of the International Space Station.

The next satellite to launch from Cape Canaveral — an essential communications satellite for the U.S. military and allied nations — was moved to the pad and mounted atop its Delta 4 rocket today.

The launch of three experimental remote sensing satellites last week signaled the resumption of Chinese space launches following multiple rocket failures since late last year, but a senior Chinese space official has confirmed the Chang’e 5 mission to return samples from the moon remains grounded.