Photos: Atlas 5 rocket aims for International Space Station

Meteorologists are anticipating favorable odds of good weather during the countdown to launch an Atlas 5 rocket and U.S. military satellite on Thursday evening from Cape Canaveral.

Stratolaunch Systems, a company backed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, will launch Pegasus XL rockets produced by Orbital ATK from the world’s largest airplane as officials shift focus toward deploying lighter satellites into orbit.

Liftoff from pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened Saturday at 1:46 a.m. EDT (0546 UTC).