Photos: Atlas 5 fulfills MUOS launch series with fifth successful launch

One of the largest satellites in the world will launch aboard America’s biggest operational booster Thursday, riding that power to a listening post 22,300 miles above the planet for its clandestine eavesdropping mission, all indications suggest.

Stratolaunch’s rocket carrier jet, the largest aircraft in the world by wing span, took off Saturday morning from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California for its first test flight.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will go from Cape Canaveral to low Earth orbit in 10 minutes Friday with a Dragon capsule heading for the International Space Station carrying more than 4,800 pounds of supplies and experiments.