Photos: Delta 4 lights up the sky for night owl launch

An upgraded Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle carrying more fuel and standing taller than earlier GSLV variants took off Wednesday from an Indian spaceport and delivered a new communications satellite to orbit for the Indian Air Force.

NASA and Northrop Grumman officials decided Friday to return a Pegasus rocket and its carrier aircraft from Hawaii to California, aborting a trip to Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean for next week’s scheduled launch of a NASA research satellite to conduct additional testing.

NASA’s Perseverance rover, set for liftoff Thursday on a journey to Mars, posed some unusual challenges for launch crews working with the robot’s plutonium-fueled power generator, but United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket is uniquely suited for the job, the company’s CEO says.