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

The liftoff of a Rocket Lab Electron booster from New Zealand with five U.S.- and German-built nanosatellites was grounded Tuesday, U.S. time, after engineers identified a problem with a motor controller on the two-stage launcher.

The next launch of United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket with the U.S. Air Force’s fifth Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite, previously scheduled for Thursday, has been delayed to no earlier than July 12 to replace a failed battery on the vehicle.

Marking United Launch Alliance’s 12th and last rocket flight in 2016, the Atlas 5 rocket departed Cape Canaveral on Sunday afternoon carrying EchoStar 19 to provide Internet connectivity across North America.