Photos: Atlas 5 launches MUOS 5

The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket stands atop Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral in readiness for the NROL-52 deployment mission for the National Reconnaissance Office.

Mike Laidley leads development of Orbital ATK’s Next Generation Launch system, a rocket the commercial space company hopes will provide a foothold in the lucrative market to launch U.S. military satellites, a business currently dominated by SpaceX and United Launch Alliance.

NASA expects to select a launch vehicle next year to carry the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope — a multibillion-dollar flagship astrophysics observatory targeted for cancellation by the Trump administration — into space in 2025 after the mission passed a key review last month, agency officials said.