Q&A with Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator

The Atlas 5 rocket emerges Monday from the Vertical Integration Facility for rollout to Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral in preparation to launch the Orbital ATK Cygnus resupply ship to the International Space Station.

Follow the unclassified portion of the Atlas 5 rocket’s ascent to space from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base launch site with the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office’s NROL-79 satellite payload. Launch is scheduled for Wednesday at 9:50 a.m. local time (12:50 p.m. EST; 1750 GMT).

The mission represented a short turnaround time for a national security mission, launching just three months after getting the call up from the government. Liftoff occurred at 1:37 p.m. EDT (1737 UTC).