Photos: Spectacular start to Delta 4-Heavy’s satellite deployment mission

A Falcon 9 rocket powered by a reused first stage booster rolled out Tuesday to pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a day before its scheduled liftoff with an Airbus-built communications satellite designed for television broadcasts over the Americas.

Follow the unclassified portion of the Atlas 5 rocket’s ascent to space from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad with the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office’s NROL-61 satellite. Launch is scheduled for Thursday at 8:37 a.m. EDT (1237 GMT).

Ziplines are used by thrill-seekers in adventures around the world, but now they are coming to the U.S. space program as the emergency escape system for personnel at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41.