Photos: Thursday’s Atlas 5 rollout to launch pad

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft parachuted to an airbag-cushioned landing in New Mexico on Dec. 22 to conclude an abbreviated two-day test orbital test flight that accomplished many objectives, but missed a planned rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station.

In a commercial push to return to the Moon while celebrating the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, Astrobotic Technology Inc. has contracted with United Launch Alliance to use an Atlas 5 rocket to send the Peregrine lander to the lunar surface in 2019.

Departing on three pillars of fire, the United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket lifted off at 1:51 p.m. from Cape Canaveral for a classified national security satellite deployment.