Photos: Atlas 5 rocket aims for International Space Station

A robotic lander and rover lifted off Friday (U.S. time) from China’s Xichang space center, kicking off a journey that will culminate in an attempt in early January to touch down on the far side of the moon for the first time.

United Launch Alliance teams mounted a top secret payload for the National Reconnaissance Office on top of an Atlas 5 rocket Monday at Cape Canaveral in preparation for a liftoff scheduled just after sunset Nov. 3.

SpaceX test fires a Falcon 9 rocket in readiness for its planned 8 September 2018 launch carrying the Telstar 18 VANTAGE communications satellite.