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

Propelled by five strap-on solid rocket boosters and a Russian-made kerosene-fueled RD-180 main engine, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on March 26 with the U.S. military’s sixth AEHF communications satellite.

Commercial ziplines have been installed and tested at United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket pad as the emergency escape system if astronauts and ground personnel need to evacuate the Crew Access Tower.

TriSept Corp. has announced plans for a commercial technology demonstration mission set for launch next year on a Rocket Lab Electron vehicle to test a deployable conductive tape, made by Tethers Unlimited, that could help small satellites more quickly fall out of orbit at the end of their missions.