Photos: Atlas 5 rocket aims for International Space Station

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral on Tuesday carrying the U.S. Air Force’s next GPS 3-series navigation satellite destined for an orbit more than 12,000 miles above Earth.

A Chinese Long March 2C rocket launched Monday with two satellites for Pakistan’s national space agency, extending a partnership between the two countries’ space programs.

United Launch Alliance plans to introduce a new payload fairing design on the next-generation Vulcan rocket, which will fly with composite parts made by Switzerland-based Ruag Space, the company’s chief executive said Wednesday.