Photos: Atlas 5 launches EchoStar 19 broadband satellite

The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket with the NROL-52 spacecraft aboard moved to the launch pad this morning for liftoff Saturday to serve the national interest. Liftoff is scheduled for 3:31 a.m. EDT (0731 GMT).

A solid-fueled Minotaur 4 rocket lifted off early Saturday from Cape Canaveral with a U.S. military payload designed to monitor satellite traffic in geosynchronous orbit.

China led the world with 34 orbital launch attempts in 2019 — including two failures — followed by 22 flights from Russian-operated launch pads and 21 satellite delivery missions originating from U.S. spaceports, all of which were successful.