Photos: Atlas 5 rocket soars from West Coast

The National Reconnaissance Office has confirmed it will launch a payload on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral later this month, a mission on SpaceX’s schedule that was not publicly disclosed until recently.

An Atlas 5 rocket successfully launched another Cygnus cargo freighter for Orbital ATK Tuesday night, fulfilling the booster’s role of reestablishing America’s resupply link to the International Space Station.

SpaceX called off the planned launch of a Falcon 9 rocket Friday at Cape Canaveral, halting the countdown less than a minute before liftoff to allow time to perform additional ground system checkouts before the mission’s next launch opportunity no earlier than Sunday.