Photos: EchoStar 19 launch as seen from press site

On the eve of its scheduled flight for U.S. national security interests, the United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket stands quietly inside the protective gantry at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 37 pad.

India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle carried a new communications satellite into orbit Thursday, replacing a satellite launched in 2011 providing telemedicine, remote education, and other telecom services across the Indian subcontinent. Liftoff occurred at 5:11 a.m. EST (1011 GMT).

A Russian-built Earth observation satellite designed to provide reconnaissance imagery to Egyptian military officials is ready for launch Thursday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on top of a Soyuz rocket.