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

The 375th Delta rocket doubled the size of the Air Force’s “neighborhood watch” program today with the successful launch and deployment of two surveillance satellites into the vast geosynchronous belt of spacecraft around the planet.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral on Monday, heading due east over the Atlantic Ocean to deliver the JCSAT 18/Kacific 1 communications satellite into orbit around 33 minutes later.

The next Atlas 5 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral will be delayed two weeks to resolve an undisclosed issue with the payload, United Launch Alliance officials announced Friday.