Photos: Nightfall at Cape Canaveral on eve of Atlas launch to space station

The International Space Station’s crew will enjoy views of the Aug. 21 solar eclipse during three successive orbits, giving the astronauts a unique opportunity to take in the celestial show from 250 miles up as the moon’s shadow races across from the Pacific Ocean and the continental United States before moving out over the Atlantic.

Engineers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center tasked with overseeing launches of scientific satellites and interplanetary probes will be responsible later this year for ensuring six major missions safely get into space over a span of a little more than six months, beginning with the launch of NOAA’s new GOES-S weather observatory on an Atlas 5 rocket March 1.

U.S. military officials and United Launch Alliance have dedicated the planned launch Saturday of an Atlas 5 rocket with the military’s winged mini-space shuttle to coronavirus first responders, front-line workers and all who have been affected by the pandemic.