Photos: Atlas 5 launches EchoStar 19 broadband satellite

A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket climbed into space Sunday with NASA’s Parker Solar Probe on a daring mission to explore the atmosphere of the sun. Liftoff from Cape Canaveral occurred at 3:31 a.m. EDT (0731 GMT).

The U.S. Air Force’s next GPS navigation satellite met its ride into space this week with the spacecraft’s bolting on top of a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket at Cape Canaveral in preparation for liftoff Aug. 22.

The Falcon 9 rocket stands on launch complex 40 on 16 April as SpaceX prepares to launch NASA’s TESS spacecraft on a mission to seek out new planets beyond our Solar System.