Q&A with Tory Bruno, president and chief executive of ULA

The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket was transfered from its assembly building to the pad at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 today for Tuesday’s launch of a commercially-operated cargo ship to resupply the International Space Station.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral at 11:05 p.m. EDT (0305 GMT) tonight to send Orbital ATK’s commercial Cygnus cargo freighter to the International Space Station. Follow the mission in our live journal.

NASA has selected 14 companies for contracts of more than $370 million to advance technology for human missions to the moon and Mars. Most of the money will support flight demonstrations by SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, and other companies that could lead to in-space refueling and propellant depots for reusable lunar landers and deep space transportation vehicles.