Photos: Atlas 5 launches new weather observer

A European environmental satellite designed to monitor Earth’s oceans, lakes and vegetation lifted off Wednesday aboard a modified Russian ballistic missile originally built to carry nuclear warheads. The mission launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome around 500 miles north of Moscow at 1757:51 GMT (1:57:51 p.m. EDT).

The Atlas 5 was rolled off launch pad 41 to take shelter in the Vertical Integration Facility because of the threat from Tropical Depression Eta. United Launch Alliance has said it is delaying the launch until Nov. 13 at 5:13 p.m. EST (2213 GMT).

The first Falcon 9 flight of 2016 is ready for takeoff Sunday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, and these photos show the rocket positioned on its launch mount overlooking the Pacific Ocean.