Photos: Atlas 5 rocket aims for International Space Station

Just three weeks after the Delta 4-Heavy rocket left the launch pad on its way to a successful satellite-deployment mission for U.S. national security, a smaller booster in the family has rolled out for its August military flight.

Tory Bruno has held the top post at United Launch Alliance for a little more than a year, and it has been anything but business as usual for the top U.S. launch provider. He recently spoke with reporters at ULA’s Cape Canaveral launch control center.

Set to fly in its most powerful configuration with five solid rocket boosters, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket rolled out to Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad Tuesday in preparation for a planned blastoff two days later with a U.S. military communications satellite.