Photos: Atlas 5 rocket soars from West Coast

Payload readiness has delayed next weekend’s planned Delta 4-Heavy rocket launch for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.

Ready for a flight to the International Space Station, SpaceX’s first upgraded Dragon cargo capsule rolled out to pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida this week in preparation for launch on top of a Falcon 9 rocket.

The Atlas rocket to launch four formation-flying spacecraft for NASA in March began to take shape Wednesday at the assembly building adjacent to the Complex 41 pad.