August 29, 2026
Spaceflight Now
  • Home
  • News Archive
  • Launch Schedule
  • Mission Reports
    • Antares Launcher
    • Ariane 5
    • Atlas 5
    • Delta 4
    • Falcon 9
    • Falcon Heavy
    • H-2A
    • Soyuz
    • Space Station
  • Members
    • Sign in
    • Become a member
    • Members Content
  • Live
  • Shop
  • Donate
Breaking News
  • [ August 25, 2026 ] SpaceX launches 27 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Falcon 9
  • [ August 24, 2026 ] SpaceX launches Starlink mission on a Falcon booster’s record-breaking 37th flight Falcon 9
  • [ August 21, 2026 ] SpaceX launches 100th orbital mission of 2026 Falcon 9
  • [ August 20, 2026 ] SpaceX launches 29 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral following last-minute scrub Falcon 9
  • [ August 19, 2026 ] LandSpace becomes first commercial Chinese company to land an orbital-class booster Mission Reports

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

July 28, 2016 Justin Ray

Departing Cape Canaveral at 8:37 a.m. EDT Thursday, the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted a classified national security satellite into orbit for deployment.

Photos by Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

See earlier NROL-61 coverage.

Our Atlas archive.

  • Atlas 5
  • AV-065
  • Launch
  • National Reconnaissance Office
  • NROL-61
  • United Launch Alliance

Related Articles

Atlas 5

Photos: OSIRIS-REx prepped for encapsulation

August 23, 2016 Stephen Clark

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is about to be sealed inside the nose fairing of its Atlas 5 rocket booster for a seven-year voyage to asteroid Bennu and back to Earth on a mission to seek out clues to the origin of life and the chaotic early solar system.

Atlas 5

Atlas 5 for Solar Orbiter launch returns to assembly building for inspections

January 22, 2020 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance moved its next Atlas 5 rocket off its Florida launch pad Wednesday for inspections after a cooling duct unexpectedly disconnected before a planned countdown rehearsal to prepare for liftoff next month with the joint U.S.-European Solar Orbiter mission. The roll back to the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad could delay Solar Orbiter’s liftoff, which was scheduled for Feb. 5

Falcon 9

Timeline for SpaceX’s next station cargo launch

April 2, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will go from Cape Canaveral to low Earth orbit in 10 minutes Monday with a Dragon capsule heading for the International Space Station carrying more than 5,800 pounds of supplies and experiments.

News Headlines

  • SpaceX launches 27 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg
    August 25, 2026
  • SpaceX launches Starlink mission on a Falcon booster’s record-breaking 37th flight
    August 24, 2026
  • SpaceX launches 100th orbital mission of 2026
    August 21, 2026
  • SpaceX launches 29 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral following last-minute scrub
    August 20, 2026
  • LandSpace becomes first commercial Chinese company to land an orbital-class booster
    August 19, 2026
  • Astronauts remove failed antenna; run out of time to install a spare
    August 18, 2026
  • SpaceX exceeds 11,000 satellites in low Earth orbit
    August 18, 2026
  • SpaceX launches record-breaking back-to-back Falcon 9 rockets for Globalstar, U.S. Space Force
    August 15, 2026
  • NASA Administrator ‘extremely confident’ in Artemis 3 mission in 2027
    August 14, 2026
  • 006A0544.NEF
    Mike Fincke, a 30-year astronaut with experience across four spacecraft, retires from NASA
    August 12, 2026
  • Home
  • News Archive
  • Launch Schedule
  • Mission Reports
    • Antares Launcher
    • Ariane 5
    • Atlas 5
    • Delta 4
    • Falcon 9
    • Falcon Heavy
    • H-2A
    • Soyuz
    • Space Station
  • Members
    • Sign in
    • Become a member
    • Members Content
  • Live
  • Shop
  • Donate

© 1999-2026 Spaceflight Now Inc