Atlas 5

Photos: Atlas 5 rocket positioned on launch pad for Navy satellite deployment

The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket was rolled to the pad today at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 in preparation for Friday’s liftoff. The flight will deliver the Mobile User Objective System satellite No. 5 into orbit, fulfilling a five-launch, four-year effort to assemble the military’s secure smartphone mobile communications network. Launch is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT).

Mission Reports

One last task for doomed cargo ship

With one last task to carry out, a space station Cygnus cargo ship loaded with trash and no-longer-needed equipment fell back to Earth Wednesday, hitting the discernible atmosphere 60 miles or so above the Pacific Ocean at nearly 5 miles per second.

Mission Reports

India’s PSLV blasts off with 20 satellites

A Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle lifted off early Wednesday with an assortment of payloads for the Indian government, domestic universities, and institutions and companies from Indonesia, Canada, Germany and the United States, including a pathfinder satellite for Google’s Terra Bella Earth observation division.