Photos: Atlas 5 rocket soars from West Coast

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket was poised for launch Wednesday at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad carrying more than 5,600 pounds of supplies and experiments to the International Space Station.

Bound for the International Space Station with a max load of fresh supplies, a commercially-operated cargo ship was mounted atop its booster rocket today for liftoff from Cape Canaveral on March 22.

China launched an optical Earth observation satellite April 30, beginning a mission designed to provide detailed reconnaissance imagery to the Chinese military.