Cygnus OA-6: What’s onboard?

Officials from NASA, Orbital ATK, Wallops Flight Facility and the Commonwealth of Virginia preview Sunday night’s flight of the Antares rocket during the pre-launch news conference held on the eve of liftoff.

Repair crews in Virginia have restored the Antares booster’s launch pad — damaged in an explosive rocket crash nearly one year ago — to flight-ready status as the Orbital ATK launcher moves toward a return-to-flight in 2016.

With its payload shroud filled with multiple U.S. Air Force satellites heading for a high-altitude perch over the equator, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Saturday at 7:13 p.m. EDT (2313 GMT) in its most powerful configuration with five strap-on solid-fueled boosters.