Photos: More Delta 4 launch shots

The next-to-last Delta 2 rocket is being stacked at its California launch site to take flight in January to put a civilian weather satellite into polar orbit.

An antenna-covered communications spacecraft that will bring more bandwidth and capacity to the U.S. military’s global information grid than any single satellite ever before was successfully launched Wednesday atop a Delta 4 rocket.

Departing on three pillars of fire, the United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket lifted off at 1:51 p.m. from Cape Canaveral for a classified national security satellite deployment.