Photos: Atlas 5 rocket soars from West Coast

A collection of pad photos from the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket flight to deploy the Global Positioning System 2F-11 navigation satellite.

An engine failure that cut short the first test flight of Virgin Orbit’s air-dropped LauncherOne rocket in May was caused by a faulty propellant feed line, the company’s CEO said this week.

Resuming space launches from the U.S. Western Range at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California after a half-year infrastructure outage, an Atlas 5 rocket will boost a commercial Earth-imaging bird into orbit on Friday.