Photos: Atlas 5 launches SBIRS GEO Flight 3

The United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket has taken off tonight from Cape Canaveral, headed for space to deploy a satellite bought by allied nations to bolster the U.S. military global communications infrastructure.

Orbital ATK transferred an Antares rocket and Cygnus supply ship to their launch pad on Virginia’s Eastern Shore late Thursday for a liftoff now targeted for Monday with nearly 7,400 pounds of cargo heading for the International Space Station.

The first of two launches by SpaceX this week lifted off Monday, Dec. 3, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California carrying 64 microsatellites and CubeSats to an orbit more than 350 miles (575 kilometers) above Earth.