Video: Delta 4 launches before dawn from California

The Atlas 5 rocket blasts off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for its late-night ascent to deploy the NROL-42 payload for the National Reconnaissance Office.

Meet the Vulcan, the next-generation rocket family brought to you by United Launch Alliance that comes with a bold reusability plan, multiple configurations for medium- to heavy-lift, all-American engines and serves as the eventual replacement for the historic Atlas and Delta rocket lines.

For the fifth time in four years, a massive U.S. Navy satellite will launch atop an Atlas 5 rocket on Friday to finish the military’s new $7.7 billion mobile communications framework 22,300 miles in space.