Photos: More shots of Thursday’s Atlas 5 rocket launch

Launching the secretive NROL-61 payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket thundered away from Cape Canaveral today at 8:37 a.m. EDT (1237 GMT).

Plans to launch a Navy communications satellite aboard an Atlas 5 rocket early Monday could be interrupted by Tropical Storm Erika, expected to strengthen into a hurricane, as the cyclone puts its sights on Florida.

Four weeks, three launches, two coasts. October was an unprecedented month for United Launch Alliance and its venerable workhorse rocket.