Photos: Atlas 5 rocket soars from West Coast

An Indian Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle lifted off Monday with the first in a new generation of upgraded regional navigation satellites designed to be interoperable with other countries’ global navigation networks.

A Russian Progress supply ship launched Tuesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, firing into orbit from a snow-covered pad to haul three tons of fuel, water and equipment to the International Space Station.

Steve Skladanek leads Lockheed Martin’s rocket sales force charged with pushing the Atlas 5 rocket, which has largely been on the sidelines of the commercial launch business in recent years, on the global satellite market.