Live coverage: International crew lands in Kazakhstan

Bidding farewell to the International Space Station today, the commercial Cygnus cargo ship separated to a safe distance before igniting an intentional fire in microgravity like never before, all in the name of science.

This gallery of photos shows the rollout Tuesday of United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket and Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule to pad 41 at Cape Canaveral, plus additional views of the 172-foot-tall launcher standing next to the crew access tower Wednesday as teams prepared for a countdown rehearsal.

A Falcon 9 booster fresh from SpaceX’s factory briefly fired its nine Merlin main engines Tuesday on a Cape Canaveral launch pad, passing a key test before liftoff Dec. 4 with a Dragon supply ship heading for the International Space Station.