Photos: Gantry rollback for second launch attempt

Following delivery to the launch pad, the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket stands poised for the NROL-61 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office from Cape Canaveral on Thursday morning.

A new fixture on the Cape Canaveral skyline began rising Tuesday with the placement of the first of seven segments for a 200-foot-tall crew access tower at the Atlas 5 rocket’s seaside launch pad for astronauts boarding Boeing’s new commercial CST-100 Starliner spaceship.

A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket is awaiting liftoff with a classified U.S. government spy satellite at Vandenberg Air Force Base’s historic Space Launch Complex-6, a picturesque rocket facility that was once intended to support launches of military astronauts and space shuttles.